Airwallex launches biggest ever ad campaign with Arsenal FC, directed by Spike Lee

• Lifelong Arsenal fan Spike Lee directs and acts alongside stars of pitch and screen including Thierry Henry, Rachel Yankey, Kai Havertz and Aaron Pierre

• ‘Who Are Ya’ features famous Arsenal supporters and players discussing B2B finance, unveiling that football supporters know more about the challenges of global transfers and payments through their commitment to the sport

• This marks Airwallex’s biggest investment in a UK sport campaign to-date, building on its partnership with Arsenal and tapping into the club’s financially savvy fanbase

Airwallex and Arsenal have launched ‘Who Are Ya’, a new advertising film celebrating financial ambition and global growth starring and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee.

The two-minute film, which represents Airwallex's largest marketing investment in UK sport to date, features club legends, current players, film and TV stars and high-profile Arsenal supporters and leverages the idea that no one outside of B2B finance cares about the sector.

Set in a North London pub on matchday, club-record goalscorer Thierry Henry, Martin Keown and Rachel Yankey, as well as Viktor Gyökeres and Kai Havertz, are joined by Arsenal-supporting stars of the screen Aaron Pierre, Jasmine Jobson and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrel’s Nick Moran. Together, they discuss the unlikely strength of feeling around complex financial dealings, with global payments firm Airwallex able to solve even the most contentious issues.

The film comes after Airwallex launched out-of-home advertisements around Arsenal’s Emirates stadium earlier this year, tapping into its shared DNA with the club of ‘always looking forward’ and ‘relentlessly asking ‘what next'?’. Airwallex is Arsenal’s official software partner, providing the digital payment tools and global financial infrastructure to support the club’s international growth.

Spike Lee, a lifelong Arsenal fan, acts as a director and on-screen talent, bringing his distinctive visual style and storytelling approach to the campaign. The campaign will run across Sky channels - launching ahead of the Arsenal vs Newcastle game on 25 April - and social media, with the film being rolled out in three phases, timed with the end of the season, the 2026 World Cup in USA and the start of the 26/27 Premier League season.

‘Who Are Ya’, which was produced by advertising and creative agency Uncommon, is the first major film from Airwallex that is rooted in its new global proposition – Build the Future – which represents a commitment to constant evolution. The campaign is designed to demonstrate how removing barriers and focusing on world-class performance will help businesses reach their full potential. 

Matt Jennings, Global Creative Director at Airwallex, said: "Arsenal supporters are among the most passionate and financially engaged supporters in football. Setting this in a pub, working with some of Arsenal’s biggest supporters and harnessing Spike Lee’s creativity and flair, this film is a genuine conversation with football supporters about money and lets us tell that story in a way that feels authentic to this community. Like Arsenal, finance is always evolving and, leveraging the stories of the club and the supporters, we can show how businesses can build the future with a new way to do things."

Arsenal Chief Commercial Officer, Juliet Slot, commented: “Our partnerships are at their best when, together with partners like Airwallex, we lift our supporters and bring them closer to us. Who Are Ya? is a celebration of the incredible passion of our community, and how we can use our shared platforms to connect us wherever we are in the world. We love Spike’s passion and understanding for our club which shines through our film.” 

Spike Lee added: “I’ve been riding with Arsenal for years - it started with Thierry. But what really stayed with me is what the club stands for - its history, its culture, the way it reflects the world beyond the pitch. With ‘Who Are Ya?’, I wanted to capture that real supporter energy - the passion, the debates, the humour. Fans today don’t just follow the game, they understand everything around it too. Bringing Airwallex into that conversation felt natural, because the film plays on how fans now talk about the business side of football just as much as what happens on the pitch. This film is about that voice, that culture, and that community.”

The announcement builds on Airwallex’s growing footprint in global sports partnerships, which includes Formula One’s McLaren Racing and MLB’s San Francisco Giants.

ENDS

About Airwallex

Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses. We are building the future of global banking for a borderless, real-time, intelligent economy.

More than 200,000 companies worldwide – from startups to public enterprises – use Airwallex to manage their global banking and financial operations, or to build and monetize their own financial products using Airwallex infrastructure. 

Founded in Melbourne in 2015, Airwallex holds 80 licenses across North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia-Pacific, forming one of the most comprehensive financial infrastructures in the world. This regulated backbone powers Airwallex products at global scale, including: payment acceptance, billing, global accounts, corporate cards, and spend management. 

The company is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore with over 2,000 employees across 26 offices. Learn more at www.airwallex.com.