Our Premier League match against Wolves takes place on Remembrance Sunday in the year that marks the centenary of the end of the First World War.
As a mark of respect, our home shirt for this game will carry The Royal British Legion’s poppy embroidered on to the chest. These match-worn shirts will be auctioned in aid of the charity once players have signed them.
Before kick-off, two soldiers from the Royal Artillery (a supporter of each club) will carry a poppy wreath and place it in the centre circle as the teams assemble to observe a period of silence. They will also be joined by 100 ex-servicemen and veterans pitchside ahead of The Last Post sounding.
During The Great War, Arsenal lost eight players; Spencer Bassett, Albert Beney, John Flanagan, James Maxwell, Charles Randall, Robert Houston, Joseph Dines and Dick Roose and over the last few weeks the club has remembered these brave men along with all the other men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice in armed conflict.
We have supported ‘There But Not There’ – a national charity campaign to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. The campaign sees six-foot ‘Tommy’ statues, silhouettes of fallen heroes which are displayed at Emirates Stadium and have been at our training ground this week. The Tommies are part of a nationwide art installation set up by the charity Remembered, which will ensure that the incredible sacrifices made by so many 100 years ago are not forgotten. The purchase of these statues sees proceeds going to The Royal Foundation, Walking With The Wounded, Combat Stress, Help for Heroes, Project Equinox: Housing Veterans and Medical Students and Commonwealth War Graves Foundation.
In support of the national ‘Football Remembers’ campaign, we have also planted six trees at our training ground in partnership with the Woodland Trust to show Arsenal’s legacy to football and the First World War. The trees have been donated by the Woodland Trust, which is working in partnership with the National Football Museum's 'For Club and Country' project, The Premier League, English Football League, Professional Footballers’ Association and Football Association to encourage clubs around the country to plant trees to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick said: “It’s an honour for the club to be part of remembering those who have sacrificed so much for us. It’s extremely important that we create legacies to remember those eight players who paid the ultimate sacrifice and show our respect for them and the many other servicemen and women who continue to serve.”
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