Marcia Milnes
Having watched the televised Aisa tour and attended Day One of the E*****s Cup (we only came to see Eboue…..), it was now the turn of Members Day in our pre-season build up. In previous years we had queued outside the stadium for ages before being allowed in, however this year we tried a new tactic – turn up once the turnstiles have already opened! This worked a treat and we walked straight in, getting to our seats as Faye White was interviewed, although sadly the Ladies Team were not there to show off their silverware having recently won the FA Cup and last season’s FAWSL. Martin Keown was also interviewed before proceedings began.
Once the players came out they were lined up for a team photo with the fans behind them included in the shot, then proceeded to jog around and stretch to warm up. Nothing too strenuous guys, we don’t want any injuries! Arsene came over to say hello looking relaxed, a few people shouted “Sign Suarez”, although no response was given apart from a grin. I guess Arsene knows………. The teams played a mini match (most goals scored by Theo) and with a Ronaldo-style shot Podolski fired a ball into the crowd just missing my daughter Ceri who - unlike the poor boy at Bournemouth hit by Ronaldo’s free kick - managed to duck out of the way! Maria sang throughout the proceedings, it wouldn’t be the same without her “Come on you Gunnerrrsssss” echoing through the stadium.
Next up were the Junior Gunners – thirty youngsters had been chosen (sadly not my daughter), and wearing the new away kit with JG and numbers 1-30 on the back ran around the centre circle holding balloons which they released into the sky, all with a voucher for free membership attached! They then played against the first team with Gunnersaurus in goal who wasn’t “DENCH” enough to save Frimpong’s effort and was then flattened by Theo, Giroud and the gang landing on top of him! The Junior Gunners were desperate to score, and with the crowd behind them just about managed it (despite at one stage the whole goal being filled with the first team!). In the midst of all this chaos Theo was taken off for a photo with a section of the crowd who had all been given Theo masks – there’s only 300 Theo Walcotts……….
A small amount of footballs were kicked into the crowd (the real Theo managed to get one into Club Level) and then it was time to head off to the Question and Answer Session in Royal Oak. Unlike previous years there was no queue so again we walked straight in – I think they have finally got this one sussed as last time we queued for nearly two hours! As there were other sessions being held simultaneously in other parts of the stadium we did not know which players we would get (thankfully Gervinho was on a plane out of there), and were really pleased to find that our session hosted by Tom Watt would include Jack, Jenko, Bacary and TV5.
It was light hearted and the answers were what you would expect in terms of new signings, Suarez etc, but it was still interesting to hear the players reply to questions that hadn’t been submitted prior to the event. Jack said that his inspiration was David Beckham and his favourite player was Cesc, and that if he could play with one of the Invincibles it would be Thierry. He also said it was important to eat healthily (I think he had conveniently forgotten about all his trips to Nandos!). Bacary (looking slightly embarrassed) had to dance with one of the audience, whilst Tommy V said he would still be captain next season, hoping to be back to fitness in a couple of weeks time.
When asked what would be the ultimate trophy Jenkinson replied the World Cup although that would be “hard” – how about the Premiership, Champions League, FA Cup, Capital One Cup or even the E******s Cup for starters!! Then, somewhat bizarrely, they held a darts challenge (health and safety – whatever next?!) which Vermaelen won despite Jack and Carl’s best efforts – Bacary had no idea what was going on! We were told there would be no autographs as the players had “another engagement to get to”, although some fans were successful as in the crush the players did sign a few things.
We finally left the stadium at 3pm and headed to the JG Fanzone for my daughter to have a quick go on the mini tour and speed shot machine, then down to the Armoury where sadly the “free printing” queue was too long for us to join, although the rest of the shop was fairly quiet.
In summary, we enjoyed the day and felt that overall things had improved in terms of organisation and player/fan interaction than in previous years, especially for the Junior Gunners. Sadly the only new face was Sonogo, but it ain’t over until Maria sings……..
