Gunner Blog

Hey everyone!

I hope you are all enjoying your summers. Here is what I’ve been up to in the last few weeks!

Wednesday, May 20
Today I was at a Double Club school assembly at Moreland Primary School. I had a great time there before heading back to Emirates Stadium for our league game against Sunderland. I was up to all my usual tricks before the game and made sure the fans were entertained throughout.

Sunday, May 24
Our last league game of the season was at home to West Bromwich Albion. We finished third in the Premier League with a very convincing 4-1 win. Theo picked up a hat-trick and will have his name added to our hat-trick wall in the lower concourse. There was also a stunning strike from Jack. After the final whistle I walked around the pitch with the players and their children to say thank you to all of the fans who have supported us over the season. Then some very lucky Junior Gunners had their chance to play on the pitch which I’m sure they will never forget it!

Monday, May 25 to Friday, May 29
The week leading up to the FA Cup Final was a very busy one for me with pitch events taking place at the stadium. Our partners and other special guests all had their chance to play on our famous pitch. Legends like Ray Parlour, Nigel Winterburn and Martin Keown were all around to make the days even more special. I also had a visit to Pentonville Prison for a family day with the inmates. I even found time to pop down to Chapel Street Market where our Community Team had a stall for the day to raise money for their department. Then on the Friday I went to Highgate Woods Soccer School to give out medals and certificates to all the boys and girls who had been attending that week.

Saturday, May 30
FA Cup final day. It’s finally here, our second FA Cup final visit in the last two years and our opponents are Aston Villa, who we have already beaten twice in the league this season. I got to Wembley nice and early and met up with my three fellow mascots from Villa. Just as I was walking along the corridor to go pitch side I bumped into Aled Jones and then had my picture taken with Alfie Boa who would be singing ‘Abide With Me’ later with a group of football fans from other clubs. We were wearing yellow shirts today, so every Arsenal fan was given a scarf to wear. I saw so many Arsenal fans who I usually see on match days. I was very nervous when the game started but that soon stopped when Theo put us 1-0 up before the interval. Alexis then scored one of the best FA Cup final goals before Per and Olivier sealed a 4-0 victory. The cup was ours for the second season running and a record 12th time in the club’s history. I went onto the pitch at the end of the game to celebrate with the players and managed to get hold of the FA Cup for a picture.

Sunday, May 31
Another big day ahead with our victory parade. Just as I had done last year, I led the parade to the town hall in an open-top Citroen car with the players in an open-top bus just behind. There were so many thousands of fans en route it took us nearly two hours to get to the town hall. I got out to see some of the fans who had been waiting patiently for many hours. Then we drove back to the stadium and the players were introduced to the waiting crowd outside the Armoury one by one. I joined them on the stage at the end. Once the players had left I stayed behind enjoying the moment. What a fantastic couple of days. I am such a lucky dinosaur.

Tuesday, June 2
No rest for me and today I was at Hackney Marshes for a London FA Girls Football Festival. Local schools were invited along for a day of football skills, coaching and matches. I took part in another dance off with the mascot from the Women’s FA and won of course.

Wednesday, June 3, Thursday, June 4 and Friday, June 5
Pitch events today this time at our training ground at London Colney. Partners, box holders and other lucky people got to see the facilities at the training ground as well as playing on some of the best pitches around. I went along to make sure everyone had a great time.

Saturday, June 6
Another big day for our Junior Gunners today. Over 100 JGs were selected by entering a competition to go to the Royal Artillery in Woolwich, where our club was founded in 1886. All of the Junior Gunners selected met at Emirates Stadium before heading off to the River Thames where they caught a clipper boat to take them to Woolwich. I was waiting to meet them. There were lots of activities including football skills, medal making, a tour of the barracks and army drills. The FA Cup was also there so everyone got a picture with the trophy. It was such a great day and I can’t wait to go back and do it again.

Sunday, June 7
Our Soccer Schools were running a three-a-side football tournament at the training ground today so I went along to present the medals and trophies at the end. Before that I was in Cuffley for their annual football tournament. I presented the medals to all of the teams taking part, winners and losers and had pictures with each team.

Thursday, June 11
Highbury Quadrant Primary School were holding an international day so I went along with the guys from the Community Department to add to the occasion. There was lots of food from all different countries. As you can imagine there were lots of happy Arsenal fans there.

Friday, June 12
There was a walk for charity today taking place from Howards Way, Chelsea, to Emirates Stadium. It was for pancreatic cancer. I was ready and waiting to meet the walkers as they arrived back at the stadium.

Saturday, June 13
There were a couple of school fetes today as well as a birthday party back at the Emirates. Gillespie School and Stroud Green Primary School both had a visit from me and the Arsenal Soccer School boys for their summer fairs. Back at the stadium there were bouncy castles and football targets with lots of food and a birthday cake.

Sunday, June 14
Today I went along to St Albans to help start the St Albans Half Marathon. Faye White from Arsenal Ladies was also there to help out. More than 6,000 runners took part on the day and I went down to the start line for the various races they had. First off was a walking race, then a wheelchair race, then the half marathon, followed by a children’s race with parents. As the runners came back to the finish line Faye and myself were asked to present the medals to the winners and pose for pictures. I just wish I could have taken part in the race myself but I am a bit out of shape at the minute!

Monday, June 15
It was the launch of the new kit this evening so I joined Nacho, Santi, Tomas, Hector and Danny in a big production staged by Puma on the podium outside the stadium. The whole event was hosted by Thierry Henry and went out on Sky TV. More than 1,000 fans turned up to get the first glimpse of our new kit. I had mine on for the first time and it looks great.

That’s it from me for now
Big hugs from Gunner