How do you know whether four of Arsenal's players are good in the air? Take them on a flight simulator challenge, of course!
Two of the Club's Spanish players, Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta, went head to head with French team-mates Olivier Giroud and Bacary Sagna to decide which team and individual would do a better job of landing the giant A380.
This followed the triumph over English players Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Carl Jenkinson by Germany's Lukas Podolski, Per Mertesacker and Mesut Ozil in a similar challenge last year.
It's all done at the Emirates Aviation Experience, a fun and educational tour of aviation, which includes four state-of-the-art flight simulators located next to the North Greenwich terminal of the Emirates Air Line urban cable car, near the O2.
"The French are going to bring some joie de vivre," said Giroud. Cazorla disagreed: "We'll beat you!"
Giroud flew first. Ignoring the noise of his team-mates, the Frenchman pumped the air with his fists, with Emirates Aviation Experience technical supervisor Wilson Alves commenting: "That was a good landing!"
Next up was Cazorla. "Not bad!" he said, despite his team-mates' best efforts to put him off as he started veering toward the right of the runway. Mocking them after making a very good landing, Cazorla said: "You speak a lot - but when you are in the seat, you don't speak!"
Sagna was next to take that particular seat. Once again, the cockpit was drowned out by the sound of laughter and friendly heckles. "Big problem, Bacary!" shouted Cazorla as the plane made an unscheduled turn. "Where's the insurance company?" he added, doing his best to put the Frenchman off. "Hey, I landed" said Sagna, triumphantly - after double-checking with Wilson, to be sure.
Ever the gentleman, Arteta respectfully acknowledged Wilson as he took on the challenge. "El Capitan!" he said before starting his descent. "Captain, am I doing OK?" said Mikel, his outward calm showing a clear determination to make a flawless landing. "Adjust the speed," replied Wilson, "and pull the nose up a bit". Determined to crack his nerve, the other players exclaimed. "Why are you crying?" before he made his landing, coming in runway right. "It was windy!" protested Arteta to the baying of his team-mates.
Back at the HD video wall, Wilson announced Spain as the victors but Giroud as the winner of best individual landing. Encapsulating the spirit of Arsène Wenger's squad, Giroud said: "We're gonna share - this is all about France" as he accepted his captain's wings.
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