I ran a £220m Jay-Z takeover of Arsenal simulation - this is what happened next

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How would life play out for the Gunners if reported fan Jay-Z was to invest in the club and become chairman?

Celebrity investments in football clubs appear to have become the latest thing across the game.

Whether that’s Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney inspiring Wrexham’s march from the National League to League One or Tom Brady unexpectedly rocking up at Birmingham City as part of a new ownership group with the current third tier side. There has also been the Class of 92’s ownership of Salford City and Hollywood actor Michael B Jordan has been a visitor to Bournemouth over the last year as part of an investment group at the Vitality Stadium.

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That got us thinking, how would other celebrity investments play out for our clubs. Arsenal are the latest club to undergo this ‘experiment’ as reported fan Jay-Z gets involved the Emirates Stadium after he apparently became a Gunners fan through his friendship with club legend Thierry Henry.

But how would a first summer and first season under a Jay-Z led Arsenal play out? We fired up Football Manager 2024, used the editor to bring the Gunners squad up to date and moved the game forward to the summer of 2025 before allowing the rap legend to take over as chairman at the Emirates Stadium.

Who was allowed to leave Arsenal following Jay-Z’s investment?

There were three major contract calls made over players approaching the end of the contracts with the Gunners. Firstly, Jorginho was allowed to depart after the Italy international agreed a pre-contract agreement to join AC Milan when his Arsenal contract came to a close.

Thomas Partey also departed on a free transfer as the Ghana midfielder heads to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Shabab and on-loan goalkeeper Neto returned to Bournemouth as Arsenal opted against offering him a permanent deal. Fabio Vieira, Nuno Tavares, Reiss Nelson, Albert Sambi Lakonga and Marquinhos have all departed the Emirates Stadium as they joined the same clubs they joined on loan during the 2024/25 season.

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There were two further departures as Leandro Trossard made a £16m switch to French club Lyon and Kieran Tierney re-joined former club Celtic in a cut-price £5m move.

Who did Arsenal sign following Jay-Z’s investment?

Along with Jay-Z’s initial investment, the income gained by the sales above left Arteta with an eye-watering transfer budget of £220m. The Gunners boss wasted little time in adding to his forward ranks as he saw off competition from the likes of Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid to land Sporting CP forward Viktor Gyokeres in a £68m deal.

However, he was far from the only forward that arrived at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners landed Lille and Canada star Jonathan David on a free transfer and handed over £48m to sign Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams.

There were no further defensive additions but Arteta did land something of a coup as he paid £22m for Barcelona’s highly-rated youngster Marc Casado and then spent another £50m to end Gabri Veiga’s spell in Saudi Arabia as the Al-Ahil star joined the Gunners on the final day of the summer transfer window.

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How did Arsenal perform during Jay-Z’s first season as chairman?

So did a Jay-Z led Arsenal claim any silverware? The Premier League title remained tantalisingly out of reach as the Gunners came second best once again by losing out to Manchester City for the third consecutive season. However, it was not for the lack of trying as Arteta’s men actually went into the final day of the season sat one point ahead of the reigning champions. A 1-1 draw at fourth placed Liverpool gave the Gunners some hope of pipping City - but Pep’s men came from a goal down to claim a 5-1 win at Brentford to ensure they were crowned champions once again.

The Champions League run came to an end in the first knockout round as Arsenal suffered a 3-2 aggregate defeat against Paris Saint-Germain. However, there was better news in the domestic cup competitions as Arsenal lifted the FA Cup and Carabao Cup by seeing off Liverpool in both finals. A late Jonathan David goal was all it took to claim a narrow in against the Reds in the FA Cup Final after Arteta’s men had recovered from an early Mo Salah goal to secure a 2-1 win in the Carabao Cup Final with a brace from Gyokeres.

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