not exactly the club, but how about as a “team”?
It’s a matter of idiom. Properly, Arsenal should be ‘is’, but idiom routinely confers ‘are’ in British english. Oddly, American english almost always uses the singular ‘is’. Example: “Edmonton IS without ITS star forward Connor McDavid tonight.” But then, you’ll hear: “The Oilers ARE without THEIR star forward Connor McDavid tonight.”
2 Likes
Fair enough, then you’ve got a collective noun which can be either singular or plural depending on whether you’re talking about the team acting collectively or individuals acting within the team. 
The team is playing well, versus the team are having disagreements about how to improve
I’ve only thought about it from the point of view of Arsenal as a club, as a collection of players, and potentially in the right context as a collection of fans. If you extend it to encompass “the team” then I think it would become impossible
1 Like
All good
1 Like
Or is Arteta just lying and we are in fact a club in crisis?
2 Likes