McVay in stands to support friend as Arteta's Arsenal reach Champions League final

At this stage of the NFL offseason, Sean McVay could be anywhere. Last night, he chose the Emirates.

The Los Angeles Rams head coach and Kevin Demoff, team president, were in north London on Tuesday night to watch Arsenal beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 and book their place in the UEFA Champions League final.

It's the latest reminder of just how close McVay and Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta have become over the years.

Arteta and McVay: the history

Before they had even crossed paths, McVay had watched Arsenal: All or Nothing, and one episode resonated with him: how Arteta dropped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang for arriving late.

"Sean watched and said, 'I do not know if I would have dealt with [Aubameyang] the way Mikel dealt with it'", said Demoff.

"He took a lot of strength from the way Mikel faced adversity, [and thought]: 'This is what I want to improve on'," he added.

Of course, the Stan Kroenke connection facilitated the meeting of minds. Both were hired under the real estate magnate's ownership, McVay by the Rams in 2017 and Arteta by Arsenal in 2019.

McVay, then 30, had just become the youngest head coach in NFL history. Arteta, 37 at the time, was similarly green as a manager.

Both were newcomers, both were under pressure to deliver, and both had Kroenke overseeing things. Common ground wasn't exactly hard to find.

Arsenal have since held pre-season preparations at the SoFi Stadium twice, and have visited LA to co-host the Football Meets Football Youth Clinic at the LA Rams NFL training camp on the Loyola Marymount University (LMU) campus.

The bond between the two soon grew, and McVay has never been shy about his support of his friend's team.

"They share that energy, that passion, that empathy," Arsenal CEO Richard Garlick said.

"They are like sponges, they absorb everything and encourage reflection. They are brave in that sense. They ask the players what they think," he added.

McVay's got his ring already, having won Super Bowl LVI, while Arteta's still chasing his first silverware since 2020.

But last night, courtesy of a Bukayo Saka goal to help Arsenal to a 2-1 win on aggregate, Arteta and Co. got a little closer, with his friend watching on from the stands.

In the words of Arteta, McVay and Co.

McVay has been clear about what draws him to Arteta, praising his friend ahead of the Rams game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley in 2025.

"One of the things I love about him is he's so reflective on where he can continue to grow, and he's not afraid to ask for real honest feedback from his guys," he said.

"The great pressure or whatever it is, it's a privilege, and he embraces it," McVay added. "It's cool to watch him move and how he handles it all."

Arteta has been similarly praiseworthy of McVay.

Last November, Arteta showed up at the Rams' facility after a fifth loss of the season had left McVay in a difficult spot.

"Mikel went into Sean's office, and they spent two hours talking about player connections, ideas and things that Mikel had done," Demoff told BBC Sport.

"Sean took a step back from the day-to-day of 'we just lost to Miami' and into 'this is what makes a great leader, this is how we do it," he said.

The Rams won six of their next seven games. "I give Mikel credit for part of our turnaround last season," Demoff added.

Now, with the Premier League title race hanging in the balance and a date with either Bayern Munich or Paris Saint-Germain in the final of the UEFA Champions League, it's Arteta's turn to go on a run.

And if last night's anything to go by, McVay will be cheering his friend on every step of the way.