Could Arsenal ($AFC) Overtake Manchester City ($CITY) as the Biggest English Football Fan Token?

Arsenal aren’t just threatening to beat Manchester City to the Premier League title. They’re also close to surpassing them in the Fan Token stakes.

$CITY’s status as the leading English football Fan Token has been built on the back of enormous on-field success, with Pep Guardiola having led his men to four of the last five Premier League trophies. Indeed, they have won six of the last eight, not to mention a Champions League and FIFA World Club Cup.

Back in 2023, Manchester City became the first English team to hold the Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League, UEFA Super Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup simultaneously. Since then, the all-conquering juggernaut has surrendered the league to Liverpool and is now facing an uphill battle to stop Arsenal winning their first title since the famous 03/04 Invincibles season.

So, how did we get here? And if the Arsenal Fan Token ($AFC) is going to flip $CITY, when will it happen?

How $AFC Narrowed the Gap on $CITY

At the time of writing, with 24 of 38 games played, the Gunners hold a six-point lead over City and a seven-point cushion over third-placed Aston Villa. 

Although the league isn’t done and dusted, not even close, there is a growing sense that Mikel Arteta’s men have the whip hand. Incredibly, City have won just one of their last six league games, two fewer than Arsenal.

But let’s rewind to consider the clubs’ Fan Token origins. City teamed up with Socios.com and Chiliz to launch the Manchester City Fan Token ($CITY) back in March 2021, so its five-year anniversary is just a month away. The Arsenal Fan Token ($AFC) followed in August of 2021.

As mentioned, $CITY has been the leading Premier League Fan Token to date – no surprise given the size of the club and their inordinate on-field success. Aided by significant Middle Eastern investment in 2008, City has become a giant of world football.

To say that $AFC has made inroads on $CITY this season would be an understatement. The opening fixtures of the 25/26 campaign saw City demolish Wolves 4-0 away on Aug. 16 while Arsenal, last year’s runners up, beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford a day later. When matchday one wrapped, the value of the $CITY token was 187.8% higher than $AFC.

As the weeks and months have passed, that gap has narrowed. By Nov. 27, a little over three months into the season, the difference was just 21%. On the pitch, Arsenal had just thumped Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 before cruising past Bayern Munich 3-1 to sit top of the Champions League. City, meanwhile, were third in the table after a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United. 

Today, with 63% of the season complete and Arsenal six points ahead in the Premier League, $CITY is still priced higher: $0.560 vs $AFC’s $0.378, a gap of 32.5%. This makes $CITY the 12th biggest Fan Token by value/market cap, while Arsenal lies in 14th place. The market cap of $CITY is still 9.6% higher than $AFC, around $680,000.  

When Could $AFC Flip $CITY?

It is natural to wonder what it might take for the Arsenal Fan Token to surpass $CITY. Arsenal winning eight out of eight in the Champions League and consistently outperforming their rivals in the Premier League has not caused a flippening, so perhaps the Gunners have to actually win something first.

Mikel Arteta’s team are in the driving seat in the League Cup semifinal, leading Chelsea 3-2 from the first leg with home advantage in the second (which takes place tomorrow, Feb. 3). Having finished top of the Champions League group stage, they will also have home advantage in the knockout ties from the last-16 onwards, and are at home to Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup fourth round later this month.

In short, Arsenal are still competing to win the mythical quadruple of Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and Champions League, an accomplishment no team has ever achieved.

That said, there is the potential for $CITY to go higher, too. After all, they are at home in the other League Cup semifinal against Newcastle United this Wednesday (Feb. 4), having won the first leg 2-0. They’re also in the FA Cup, Champions League, and of course the Premier League title race.

Ultimately, it’s still all to play as we enter the final four months of the season. But whatever way you slice it, the way Arsenal has slashed City’s Fan Token lead has been one of the biggest SportFi stories of the year. 

Who are you backing?

Ronnie McCluskey: Fan Tokens Market Reporter