Arsenal have started a new project where they’re pairing up members of their men’s and women’s teams to promote and support local businesses and community organisations.
It’s called ‘Arsenal Supporting Supporters’ and two advert installments of the project have already been released with the Tollington Arms pub and Autoparts. Clive Palmer is the voiceover artist and Arsenal fan behind the adverts and is also part of the Arsenal Vision podcast.
He spoke to our The Arenal Way presenter and writer, Tom Canton, about how the collaboration came about.
Here's a brief look at what was said:
CP: “Everyone says my voice is recognisable. Everyone says it, so it must be true. They (Arsenal) said do you want to help, we’re doing this initiative to help local businesses. Around five or six. Help local businesses to recover post-covid.
“And Arsenal are really… if you ask me Tom - post the Super League and what’s happened with no one being at the grounds, there’s a real drive to reconnect with the fans. You’re around the ground, it’s happening naturally anyway.
“There seems to be a much better connection from a match-going fan and Arsenal want to push this. Help local businesses who have sat there a year or so with no passing trade, no one coming near them and they’re literally hanging on.
“I’m sure you know many stories of rent issues and businesses are going down, they’re having to mothball. So it’s a great initiative. What I like about it is it’s not Arsenal pushing themselves forward. They’re pushing the businesses forward.
“So, if you look at it they’re at the forefront, it’s not ‘look at what Arsenal are doing’. They’re involving players, obviously, Rob Holding with the Tollington Arms was a good mix. They’ve got Aubameyang due to the fact that he loves his cars, there’s a lot of thought gone into this.
“So, they asked me. I may not be famous from a face perspective, but maybe a voice perspective. Again I’m a fan, it makes sense right. I did some recording for them for this one (Autoparts) particularly, but they liked my voice so they added the other lot.
“They’ll be four or five of these coming up and I think it’s a really positive thing they’re doing. It may continue and I think we criticise the club don’t we - for a bad substitution or recruitment. But, I took this up because it’s a brilliant thing to do.”
“In the end the football club. Well, what’s a definition of a football club? You need to feel connected to it and you need to feel like you’re all part of the same team. And I think the club have, maybe not re-recognised that, they’ve always recognised it but maybe they’re starting to appreciate it a lot more due to the fact that we were kept separate from each other. When you’re kept separate, you think hang on a minute we can’t take each other for granted.
“I think it goes both ways. That’s my feeling on it and it’s really, really a positive thing. Based on the two adverts that I’ve seen come out it’s been 100% received the right way. So, yeah really good - what’s your thought on it?”
TC: “When the Tollington one dropped, I loved that it involved the players, Per Mertesacker, Amy Lawrence involved in it as well. It’s having obviously as most Arsenal fans that have been to the games, been to Tollington. Pubs are a weird one because you don’t necessarily expect as a football fan - because you don’t think about the pub until you get to the game.
“It’s not something you’re thinking about so when the pandemic hit, knowing that no one was going to games and no one was being able to go to the pubs - how poorly that must have affected them.
"To see the club, not only the club itself, because I mean you can put a badge on anything. You can put an advert with Arsenal's badge and say something like Arsenal in association with.
“But, to get the players like Rob Holding and Aubameyang, I’m sure there’s more that we’ll see come forward too in the future ones. That in itself is such a positive message.”
What do you think about the Arsenal Supporting Supporters project? Follow our The Arsenal Way team members Tom and Renuka on Twitter to get involved in the discussion and give us your thoughts in the comments section below.
