Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby visited Islington Museum on September 26 as part of the Club's ongoing celebrations to mark its 100th anniversary in the Borough of Islington.
The Frenchman, who installed the first ever seat at Emirates Stadium when the Gunners moved across the Borough from Highbury, was shown around a new public exhibition at the Museum in St John Street, which features a range of rare and interesting artefacts charting the story of Arsenal’s presence in Islington – right back to the move from Woolwich in 1913 to the large regeneration of the area that has happened in more recent years.
Some of the many items on show include a copy of the original indenture for the rental of the Highbury site, a horseshoe that was found underneath the old North Bank and a scale model of the Highbury Square redevelopment.
Abou was joined for the visit by Islington-born Arsenal legend, Charlie George, the Mayor of Islington Cllr Barry Edwards, a group of local schoolchildren from Clerkenwell Parochial C of E School and young people from a number of Arsenal in the Community projects across the Borough.
After finding out more about the Gunners’ origins in Islington, Abou and Charlie joined the schoolchildren for a fun and interactive quiz themed around the Club’s history and links to the local area.
Speaking about the visit, Abou said: “It has been really good to find out more about the Club’s history and the reasons behind the move to north London 100 years ago. I’ve learnt a few things that I didn’t know before and coming here you realise just what Arsenal means to the people of Islington.”
The visit follows an official launch event for the exhibition at the Museum that took place last week and which was attended by Club representatives including Ken Friar OBE, as well as prominent figures from across the local community.
‘It’s Arsenal around here’ runs at Islington Museum until 24 January 2014 and admission is FREE.
To find out more, visit www.islington.gov.uk
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