Gunnersaurus Blog

Hi everyone, it's been a busy month for me! Here's what I've been up to:

Thursday, January 22
There was a cocktail party for Diamond Club members tonight and I went along to greet everyone. There was a talk from the boss and a question and answer session with Martin Keown.

Sunday, January 25
Brighton & Hove Albion 2-3 Arsenal
The same score as a couple of season ago. Goals from Theo, Mesut and Tomas saw us through to the next round of this year’s FA Cup.

Monday, January 26
The draw was made for the next round of the FA Cup and we were drawn at home to Middlesbrough. I called into the football pitches on Market Road today for an activity day with schools from the local borough. We had a lot of fun although there was some serious football being played.

Thursday, January 29
Another cocktail party tonight this time for the WM and Foundry members. Mr Wenger had Nigel Winterburn to help him out with the questions and answers. I was just on hand to make sure all of our fans got a picture and a cuddle with me.

Friday, January 30
I went back to the UCL College in Swiss Cottage today for another game of dodgeball. There were several local schools taking part and I was on hand to demonstrate the art of not getting hit with the softball. As you can imagine I was quite a big target for the kids to aim at, so I had to show off all of my skills to not get hit.

Sunday, February 1
Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa
Matchday today with all of my usual duties meeting the players as they arrive then popping off around the pitch to greet the fans. Just one goal to celebrate before half-time from Olivier, then it was my turn to face some penalties being taken by our junior supporters plucked from the crowd. I will have to have a word with David and Wojciech to give me some tips as I am struggling to save any. Further goals from Theo, Santi, Mesut and a first Arsenal goal for Hector saw us run out 5-0 winners. I called into Box Level after the match where I ran into Arsenal legend Ray Parlour.

Tuesday, February 3
Nightingale Primary School was my next stop calling in with our Community department to let them know all about the Arsenal Double Club. I caused havoc as usual popping into all of the classrooms. The children were all very excited to see me.

Friday, February 6
I spent most of today in the Armoury superstore checking out the shoppers and the tourists who had been on our stadium tour.

Sunday, February 7
Tottenham 2-1 Arsenal
After a good start and an early goal from Mesut we fell away and went down 2-1 to our neighbours from White Hart Lane.

Tuesday, February 10
Arsenal 2-1 Leicester City
Back to winning ways and tonight I was joined by my good friend Filbert the Fox from Leicester. I am pleased to say that everyone made him feel very welcome and we have a great time going around the pitch together first to the Leicester City fans and then to the home fans. We both greeted the teams as they arrived. At half time when I was going out to face the penalties I stopped for a picture with Arsenal Legend Ian Wright, who just loves me, and Lee Dixon who were doing the half time interview. Goals from Laurent and Theo saw us collect all three points.

Wednesday, February 11
Today three local schools came to Emirates Stadium as part of a project to create a business model and plan. They then had to present this to a panel of judges which included a big Arsenal fan Marvin Berglass (yes our very own Marvin the Magician). I gave every a little bit of light relief popping by for some pictures.

Thursday, February 12
Wow!! You will never guess what I got today... A BLUE PETER BADGE!!! I was invited along to the BBC studios at Media City in Manchester to film a special Blue Peter programme launching a competition to design a brand new mascot which will make it’s appearance at the FA Cup Final in May. I was there with fellow mascots Filbert the Fox from Leicester, Jude the Cat from QPR, Cyril the Swan from Swansea, Fred the Red from Manchester United and a Bumble Bee from Partick Thistle in Scotland. We all had a few hours of rehearsals before the programme went out live at 5.25pm. If you missed it you can catch it online. Did you know that one of the presenters of the programme Radzi was a Junior Gunner and is a big Arsenal fan?!

Friday, February 13
Today I was at the MK Dons stadium in Milton Keynes for the England Ladies v USA Ladies friendly match. There was a fan zone before the match so I joined several other mascots entertaining the crowd before kick-off. There were lots of fans there who I had met previously at Arsenal Ladies games. The England Ladies lost 1-0. We had three Arsenal Ladies in the squad - Alex Scott, Jordan Nobbs and Lianne Sanderson.

Sunday, February 15
Arsenal 2-0 Middlesbrough
FA Cup day today and over 5,000 Middlesbrough fans travelled to the Emirates for the game. There were lots of young fans in the stadium today so I was kept busy walking around the pitch before kick-off. I met the two teams and after the final whistle, where two goals from Olivier saw us comfortably through to the next round, I popped up to the boxes to see some fans.

Monday, February 16
So we have been drawn away to Manchester united in the FA Cup quarter-finals. Should be a good game!

Tuesday, February 17
It was Box Holders day at the training ground today so I went along to meet everyone before heading off to see the players train. Mr Wenger came over for a chat before we headed back inside for some lunch. Former player Martin Keown was also there to answers some questions before several of the first-team squad came up so sign some autographs.

Wednesday, February 18
It was family day at Pentonville Prison today. I went along with our community team to play some games with the children of the inmates, whilst the adults did some catching up.

Thursday, February 19
It was Club Day at the training ground today. Most of the first team squad took part in various activities, and I went along to referee a table tennis match between Laurent and Per. We made a grand entrance while being filmed and Laurent won the toss of the coin. It was the best of three sets, first to 11 points in each set. Per won the first set but Laurent hit back winning the second. It went to a tie break, sudden death and Laurent came out on top.

Friday, February 20
Several local schools had been taking part in various activities all week and the climax of the week was to be invited to the Emirates Stadium to be rewarded for all their hard work. I met all of the children and handed out medal and certificates to everyone who had taken part.

Saturday, February 21
Crystal Palace 1-2 Arsenal
The game today was screened live at the Stadium today so I was around to look after over 3,000 mums, dads and Junior Gunners. We played lots of games before settling down to watch the match. We were comfortable at 2-0 with goals from Santi, and Olivier. A late goal from Palace made the final few minutes a bit scary especially when they hit the post nut still, another three points.

That’s all from me for now.
Big hugs from Gunner