10/17/25 12:14:00
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10/17 12:12 CDT Mikel Arteta and Sean McVay's bromance blooms as Premier League
and NFL collide in London
Mikel Arteta and Sean McVay's bromance blooms as Premier League and NFL collide
in London
By KEN MAGUIRE
AP Sports Writer
LONDON (AP) --- Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta and Los Angeles Rams coach Sean
McVay can take their bromance to new levels this weekend.
Their teams --- both owned by Stan Kroenke --- are playing in the same city. To
boot, their respective opponents --- Fulham and the Jacksonville Jaguars ---
are both owned by Shad Khan.
On Friday, Arteta spoke glowingly of his Rams counterpart. They regularly
exchange Whatsapp messages.
"Sean is someone that I admire a lot, not only for what he has achieved, but
the way he is as a coach, as a person, the way he presents himself," Arteta
said at a news conference. "I learn a lot of things from him."
The pair have chatted tactics over the years, even COVID-19 protocols back in
2020.
Arsenal played a preseason friendly at SoFi Stadium --- the Rams' home --- both
last year and in 2023. During last summer's visit, Arteta and McVay ran a
coaching clinic for local children.
Arteta is still seeking a Premier League title as manager. The Gunners won the
FA Cup in his first year in charge --- 2020 --- and have been the league
runner-up for the past three seasons. They haven't won the Premier League title
since 2004.
In February 2022 at the age of 36, McVay became the youngest head coach in NFL
history to win a Super Bowl.
Arsenal travels across London to face Fulham in a Premier League match on
Saturday evening. The Gunners enter the weekend atop the league.
The Rams and Jaguars traveled just a bit farther to play at Wembley Stadium on
Sunday.
"We'll be connected," Arteta said of McVay. "It's going to be a really tight
schedule for both teams because we have the Champions League after coming up on
Tuesday, but it's great to have them. It's great to have Stan and Josh
(Kroenke) here as well with us. It's a good opportunity as well to connect
everybody."
Before leaving for the British capital, McVay told reporters about his
admiration for Arteta.
"One of the things that I love about him that we try to be able to do is he's
so reflective on where can he continue to grow, and he's not afraid to ask
questions that he wants real honest feedback from his guys of where he can
improve for them," McVay said.
"The great pressure or whatever it is, it's a privilege, and he embraces it,"
he added. "It's cool to watch him move and how he handles it all."
Battle of billionaires
Khan, a self-made billionaire, bought the Jaguars for $770 million in November
2011. Less than two years later, he purchased Fulham. He also once tried to buy
Wembley from the English Football Association.
Khan and Kroenke's paths crossed in 2010 after Khan bid to buy the Rams ---
then located in St. Louis. Kroenke was a minority owner and exercised his
matching rights to buy the remaining 60% share. Kroenke later engineered the
Rams' return from Missouri to Los Angeles in 2016.
Kroenke, who married Walmart heiress Ann Walton in 1974, founded Kroenke Sports
& Entertainment in 1999 and purchased the NBA's Denver Nuggets, NHL's Colorado
Avalanche and MLS' Colorado Rapids. He gained a controlling share of Arsenal in
2011 and full ownership in 2018.
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