Black Arsenal

by Clive Nwonka (Editor), Matthew Harle (editor)

Arsenal is special. Its multicultural fandom reflects a changing city and a unique relationship with Black British popular culture. Thanks to its decades of fielding iconic Black players on the pitch and the storied and diverse histories of its terraces, Arsenal has emerged as a powerful symbol of what an organic and convivial multiculture can be.

From the earliest hints in the late 1960s that something remarkable was happening, up to Arsenal's ascendence as a global organisation, Black Arsenal is the first dedicated exploration of the club's relationship to contemporary Black identity and culture. It sees the club's affinity with Black identity transcend football and spread across in the media, music, fashion, politics and everyday social experiences. Explored through a combination of stunning photography and rare archival images, Black Arsenal examines how a new Black iconography emerged at Arsenal at key moments in British history that became crucial to the creation of new forms of Black identification.

With contributions including former legends Ian Wright and Paul Davis, critical appraisals from Paul Gilroy, Gail Lewis and Clive Chijioke Nwonka, and personal responses from Clive Palmer, Ezra Collective, Amy Lawrence and others, Black Arsenal encounter the moments, stories and experiences of how Arsenal became an important and underexamined feature of modern Black British culture and identity.

Genres: Nonfiction, Soccer, Sports

307 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 29, 2024

Reviews

[John Newcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a marvelous insight into the multi ethnicity of Arsenal and how Arsenal became the team for black Londoners.
I never really realised that Arsenal and blackness is a thing but I can see how it happened.
There are 23 essays from many different walks of life as to what Arsenal means to the writers and their journies to get there. Illuminating.

[113rara]

My colleague is in this book

[Conor Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book, could be sub titles how Ian wright changed my life.

[Nash Rougvie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Among the gloabalizing, PR-training, and "americanization" of Premier League clubs, which presents the sport of soccer in a growingly whitewashed, ahistorical, and politically neutral light, Clive Nwonka helps ground Arsenal as a community-rooted, socially complex, and necessarily political club. The stories included in this anthology - ranging from former facilities workers to academic sociologists - remind me that Arsenal is a beautiful tapestry of backgrounds and perspectives, beyond being a corporate sporting entity.

It's hard to read this book and not feel immense pride as an Arsenal fan. Nwonka and his contributors' work helps illustrate how Arsenal is unique in its ability to unite and welcome people from all backgrounds into its fold - even if the formal entity of Arsenal is not always so proactive in doing so. It helps me, as a fan in America, gain appreciation for what Arsenal really means, and how it is singularly distinguished from other clubs in the Anglosphere in terms of its relationship with Black fans and players. This histories told in this book are not ones I would ever find on NBC sports, and have intrigued me to learn more about the great all-black midfield of the early 90's and the players who shaped Arsenal's 21st century on-field identity. It also gives more perspective into how special and significant Bukayo Saka, Ethan Nwaneri, and Myles Lewis-Skelly are as continuations of Arsenal's Black tradition.

I'm glad I read the book front-to-cover, and I think it is best read as such upon the first perusal. Afterwards, you can really pick one of any of the testimonials to refresh yourself on - and it will always be invigorating. This is the perfect coffee-table book, and one I keep in a spot by itself to this day

[Tejas Sathian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun read for an Arsenal fan looking to understand the club's heritage and community significance. I loved the stories narrated by ordinary fans as well as former players like Ian Wright. James McNicholas's piece on Bukayo Saka, Arsenal's first superstar of the social media era, was particularly great.

[Nigel Downer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. Obviously a must read for Gooners, but also for the individual who loves stories. Stories that are surrounded in passion from a sports fan, getting a perspective of where culture and sport can collide, or following one thing – one team – with all of your heart.nD

[Christopher Sharpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wright Rights Wrongs

[Malcolm Davis]

I have been going to watch Arsenal since 1953.Good to see the rise of black players.My hero is Sakka.There should be more black managers coaches and refs.
Some entertaining chapters and good photos.