Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke and manager disagree on a specific initiative from aimed at generating substantial revenue for the club.
Kroenke has placed great trust in Arteta, departing from what has historically been his sustainability-first approach and backing the Spaniard with transfer funds of almost £300m over the last two seasons.
That investment has been returned with interest by Arteta, who resorted Arsenal’s status as a Champions League side and has run Man City close for the Premier League title in successive seasons.
However, as is the case with almost every manager-owner relationship in the Premier League, there are a number of topics on which the paid fundamentally disagree.
Kroenke is an investor and ultimately sees Arsenal as a capital appreciation project that he will eventually sell for a huge profit.
Arteta’s focus is on the training ground and matchdays.
And as much as both parties wished the dynamic was church-and-state, the business and sporting sides of Arsenal are intrinsically intertwined.
Increasingly, the overlap is creating problems at the Emirates and in the wider landscape of football.
Controversial tournament backed by Arsenal, but Mikel Arteta won’t be happy
Arsenal are among the Premier League sides who are actively supporting FIFA’s plans for an expanded Club World Cup.
The event has typically been an unobstructive affair for European participants, who have been required to play an extra one or two matches per campaign.
But Gianni Infantino’s plan for the 2025 edition of the tournament, which incidentally has the support of Arsenal legend turned FIFA supremo Arsene Wenger, is to allow 32 teams to compete.
This World Cup-style event would be hosted every four years, as opposed to the current format which sees the UEFA, CONMEBOL, AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC face off on an annual basis.
Illustrating why FIFA feel there is room for an expanded tournament, new data from CIES Football Observatory shows that just 2.1 per cent of players play 50 or more games per season over the last decade and that 81.9 per cent of minutes played came in domestic leagues.
Critics will point out that the likes of Arsenal will almost always play 50-plus matches per campaign, especially with the new expanded Champions League format starting in 2024-25.
Arteta has repeatedly concerns over player workload, while Kroenke, who has handed over day-to-day responsibilities in North London to son Josh in recent years, will highlight the potential riches on offer.
FIFA have said clubs could earn as much as £42m each time they compete in the competition.
TBR Analysis: How much will Club World Cup really be worth to Arsenal?
While FIFA will have been happy to see headlines with that £42m figure proliferate earlier this year, that figure has been contested by a number of football stakeholders.
That sum would likely only be available to clubs who reach the deeper stages of the tournament and it may also be weighted towards clubs with more lucrative TV deals or a higher coefficient rating.
And in any case, it appears that the main source of that cash is in doubt.
Talks with Apple over an exclusive streaming deal for the Club World Cup have stalled and FIFA now face going back to clubs with a revised offer in terms of what they can make out of the tournament.
Arsenal are not set to play in the 2025 Club World Cup, where Man City and Chelsea will be the Premier League representatives.
However, they are confident they can take part in future editions, hence their support for the competition.
