JG Dylan was our matchday reporter at the #JGTakeover - check out his story about his evening at the Emirates.
------
On Wednesday 20th of September, many of my dreams came true thanks to Arsenal FC and being a Junior Gunner. It all started when I and 12 other JGs won an Arsenal competition to help out behind the scenes for the night. I was match day reporter which involved interviewing players and updating social media throughout the match.
We were giving official Arsenal t-shirts, coats and our very own access all areas passes. We all had a chaperone, Nik was with me for the evening. I was interviewed on the pitch because I had done some research before the game and learnt all the Doncaster players’ names, numbers and I attempted to predict who would play against the mighty Arsenal. Did you know the Doncaster manger Darren Ferguson is Sir Alex Ferguson son?
My next job was to greet the players off the coach. As we waited for them to arrive…… OMG there he was, the legend, the king… Thierry Henry. I asked him 2 questions; who was your favourite teammate? He said Bergkamp. I then asked, out of the 288 goals you scored for Arsenal which was your favourite, he answered, Leeds in the FA cup. (I told him that it was an awesome goal and my mum was at that match). I had my photo taken Henry and he gave me a hug.
Just before the game, I got a taste (quite literally) of the press food and it was PHENOMENAL! We went on to the pitch and I had a chat with Jack Wilshire in the tunnel and got Cech’s autograph, I also said hello and good luck to Elneny and Giroud, everyone was so friendly. I was then interviewed about my role by Boris another JG, and it was on the big screens.
During the game I watched from the media area with Nik and Connor, Arsenal journalists, and it was really exciting to share match updates on social media. At half time I went back on the pitch and took a selfie with Gunnersaurus.
Once the game had finished I headed straight to interview room two to interview Per Mertesacker, the Arsenal captain. I asked him 'How did you prepare for a match against a side you haven't played before? He replied stating that they watched videos of the players and it had been a tough game but he was happy with the result.
I could go on and on but it was the best day of my life so a huge thank you to EVERYONE at The Arsenal.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.