Gunner Blog

Hey everyone!

I hope you are all doing well.

Here's the latest instalment of my blog:

Thursday, April 23
I was back at Falconer School for Boys in Hertfordshire today to meet the pupils there. We had a game of football after doing a bit of Double Club work.

Friday, April 24
I can’t seem to keep away from Wembley Stadium lately! Today it was for a food conference held by Marks and Spencer. Over 1,000 staff from different branches gathered before breaking for lunch. There was plenty of food to sample as you can imagine. I was kept busy greeting and posing for pictures. My friend Percy Pig from Marks and Spencer sweets range was also on hand to help out.

Saturday, April 25
It was Leo’s fourth birthday today. I was invited along to his party in Islington and met all of his mates. His mum and dad are huge Arsenal fans and Leo was wearing his Arsenal shirt as well. We all had a lot of fun before singing happy birthday when his Arsenal birthday cake was brought out.

Sunday, April 26
Today was our home game against Chelsea and time for GunnerCam again. I spent the day with a camera attached to my neck so we could record everything that happens on a match day. We got some great shots of the players arriving before heading off to Box Level where I bumped into Serge Gnabry who was watching the game in one of our boxes. At half time we did the Junior Gunners penalty shoot-out and I ran into David O’Leary who was doing the half-time interview. The game finished 0-0 with our visitors more than happy with a point. I then popped up to the Royal Oak suite to meet some fans.

Thursday, April 30
Today I was at the training ground and my first job was to umpire a table tennis match between Nacho Monreal and Gabriel. After this I filmed a video for Paddy Power which is available now on YouTube. Wojciech Szczesny, Tomas Rosicky and Santi Cazorla were all involved in the Arsenal version of the Eurovision Song Contest. Then it was straight off to a local primary school for a classroom visit before heading back to the training ground for another school visit where the boys and girls were being coached by the Arsenal Community team. It was a very exhausting day but I loved every minute of it.

Friday, May 1
A new venture for me today, off to St John’s Upper Holloway School for the official opening of their new play area which had been part funded by the Arsenal Foundation. They had lots of important people there like the Bishop of Stepney, School Governors, local businesses and me of course. I officially cut the ribbon and posed for pictures. After this I went round all of the classrooms to say hello to all of the pupils.

Monday, May 4
Another great win tonight, this time away against Hull City at the KC Stadium. Two first half goals from Alexis and one from Aaron gave us a 3-0 lead at half-time. They got one back in the second half but we ran out comfortable winners in the end.

Friday, May 8
Today was the official opening of our new sports and community centre called the Arsenal Hub. Per Mertesacker and Francis Coquelin made a special appearance and after looking around, kicked-off the first football match on the new indoor pitch. The centre will not only be used by our Community team but also members of the public from the borough of Islington.

Monday, May 11
Another Monday night game this time at home to Swansea City, and a return to the Emirates for Lukas Fabianski. Before kick-off I met up with Robert Pires and Thierry Henry and saw the players arrive before heading off to pitch side to see the fans. Three lucky youngsters had their chance to score a penalty past me at half time. In the second half we put pressure on Swansea but were caught with a late goal, losing 1-0. How we couldn’t put the ball in Swansea’s net was a mystery but Lukas did save everything we kicked at him.

Friday, May 15
I had a couple of events today. First thing it was off to Sacred Hearts Primary School to meet the pupils having a fun day in the playground. They had bouncy castles and lots of games to play with. I had a go at juggling skittles but was not very good. Later that day I attended a conference for event managers at the stadium so it was meet and greet time. The organiser was a big Arsenal fan and he was wearing his Arsenal shirt all day. As you can imagine lots of pictures were on the agenda.

Sunday, May 17
Theo came off the bench to salvage a point after a disappointing first half display against Manchester United. We could have gone on and won the game in the second half but were probably happy with a point. It keeps us two points ahead of Manchester United with two games to play. We only need a point to finish third.

Monday, May 18
Not far to go today, just across the road to Drayton Park School. I was there to hand out certificates to the children who had been taking part in the Premier League Reading Stars programme. The boys and girls were given books to read over a number of weeks. I will be popping back to Drayton Park School for their summer fete later in the year.

Tuesday, May 19
Another Premier League Reading Stars School today, this time St John’s Upper Holloway. I popped into the school assembly to hand out the certificates to the children who had been taking part. School assemblies are the best, they are such fun and everyone loves to see Gunnersaurus.

Lots more to come in the busy weeks ahead, but that’s all from me for now.

Big hugs from Gunner