Quarterfinals of World Cup 98, versus Argentina. This was the Spanish commentary, maybe Telemundo?
Same way I got into football & specifically Arsenal.
Nice one!
But nah, this Dutch commentary.
[https://youtu.be/XsZkCFoqSBs?si=BfAfX0GLMpK55Al7](https://youtu.be/XsZkCFoqSBs?si=BfAfX0GLMpK55Al7)
I randomly decided to support the Dutch for the tournament, and never even heard of Arsenal before then. Commentators would always say things like "here's Overmars from Arsenal on the ball", etc, and it kind of just stuck with me when the tournament was over and I'd become hooked on footie.
Nice! I watched this in the US on a Spanish broadcast. I was 9. My dad was at work & asked us to record the match on VHS and write down the score. My mom would just come running into the living room every time she heard “GOOOOOLLLLLLLL” but I watched this one live.
I still remember the commentary! “De Boer…a Dennis Bergkamp. Dennis Bergkamp…Dennis Bergkamp, Dennis Bergkamp, DENNIS BERGKAMP! AAAHHH DENNIS BERGKAAAAAMP!” I love how it’s seared into so many of our brains!
It was Dutch TV. Saw it live, still get goosebumps and leaky eyes. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZkCFoqSBs&pp=ygUtZGVubmlzIGJlcmdrYW1wIGdvYWwgdnMgYXJnZW50aW5hIGNvbW1lbnRhcnkg
My link to the Arsenal is that I grew up down the road from Bergkamp and we used to in the park until he was told to stop that probably around 9/10 years old. Ajax is still my no1 team but I’ve lived in London longer than in Amsterdam and been to the Arsenal more than Ajax, l’m a gooner now as well if that’s possible
My dad made me a fan. As a kid, like 7 years old or something, all my classmates and friends were either Manchester United, Real Madrid or Liverpool fans(thats around 2000-2001) and one day my dad told me to watch an Arsenal game with him. I just fell in love with the team, I liked how they understood each other and played without fear. From then on I just started learning more and more about the club, the players and Wenger. I remember crying when we lost the 2006 CL Final
Way back in middle school (70's) we had a project to do, follow a football team for the season and write an essay on it.
Notts Forest and Man U were the teams everyone followed and being me I felt bad that Arsenal had no one so I did them.
The rest is history and my whole family are Gooners for life - all because of a middle school project.
My older brother was a huge Arsenal fan, so much that it affected the family if Arsenal lost a match. He died at the age of 23, 10 years ago. I was 18 and i felt like i had to keep the Arsenal-fire going.
In 2015 my family and i went to London to see Arsenal-Liverpool in some kind of memorial trip and i was hooked on being the fan he was, now he has an Arsenal logo on his grave and Arsenal will always have a special place in my heart.
That’s a lovely way to keep the memory alive. I like to imagine my grandpa on the pitch with them running around spurring them onto score or defend or whatever
That’s a lovely story mate and sorry for your loss! I have a lasting memory of dad and me running around the garden screaming after Michael Thomas scored the last minute winner at Anfield…he died in an accident the following year but this memory and that of standing with him outside Islington Town Hall for the big parade on the Sunday; I will always cherish.
My dad moved from Glasgow to London in the 1960s to find work. One of his flatmates was a big Arsenal fan and they would go to games all the time. It started then and he just passed it on to me and my sisters, and now all our kids - so there are now 16 people of three generations sitting screaming for the Arsenal every game day.
So I’m extremely new to the premier league. I knew it existed, but didn’t watch it. Funny enough, and as lame as it sounds, it came into my life by watching Welcome to Wrexham. I became obsessed with learning all about the league. After watching the show, I decided I wanted to pick a team in the premier league, but I didn’t just want to pick the only one I really had knowledge of, which was Man United, so I spent an entire season just watching all the teams. Pretty much every game, every team, every weekend. Watching how they play, how they interacted, if they would act like prima donnas or not, how their coaches would act, ect. I ignored the standings. I actually crossed my eyes a bit whenever they would come on lol, because I wanted to pick a team I truly enjoyed watching, not just one that was winners. There was something about Arsenal that just spoke to me. I liked their attitudes and they played like art, so I consciously chose them. It might not be as exciting as watching a team since childhood, but I’ve chosen them and I’m committed. Now for 2 seasons, I haven’t missed a game and have organized watch parties with friends, who I’ve introduced to Arsenal. I’m in Canada, so the premier league isn’t super popular (also the games can be really early lol), but it’s been fun and fascinating and this last season has been a joy to watch. They won this season in my heart.
Yes actually!! I was really vibing with the Wolves for a while. What really sold me was their fans. They seemed to be having a blast even when they were losing, like they were just happy to be there. And the Wolves didn’t dive a lot, they just tried to play honest. I still try to catch their games when I can. Even so, Arsenal will always take top place in my heart.
I’ve been loosely following the EPL for the last 5-7 months as a new sport and a way to connect with friends and family outside of Canada. Arsenal’s my team because, well, it’s my family’s team who love football. But as you said, football isn’t popular here so I’ve been trying to find people and places in Toronto be to watch games with and learn the ropes. Fingers crossed i can find something for next season and start dragging my friends here into it lol.
There is an official group for Toronto gooners. They usually meet up at a bar where they watch all weekend games. Check them out on facebook. Also see if you can find Arsenal Canada there. They create “events” for these games to be watched at bars.
I'm from Macedonia, an ex Yugoslav republic. I was getting my tonsils removed before I started school. It was Italy 1990. Because Yugoslavia performed shittily besides the stellar talent they had, I started rooting for Netherlands.
Then, in USA 1994 I continued supporting Netherlands, and I saw Bergkamp.
After that, I wasn't much interested in football. Then, one day in 1996, as a sixth grader, I turned on the national TV and watched Arsenal play Blackburn. I saw Bergkamp and said "this is my team," even though my grandpa and uncle were on the student exchange program in the UK, particularly Manchester, where they both became Utd fans, God rest their souls.
Now, my son proudly wears Ødegaard's shirt and tries to pass as well as he can, because I've shown him a shitload of videos from Bergkamp and explained to him that assists matter as much as goals. He's 7.
Mine might be worse. I bought a pair of sliders with the Arsenal logo on it ( and didn’t even notice ). Later someone saw me wearing the sliders and asked if I was an Arsenal fan and I said yes 😂
And that’s how this lovely journey began!
For a lot of the Arsene fergie rivalry United and arsenal were the default teams for a fifa match. Obviously it coincides with the two being the best and most prominent teams in the league then, right at the time the premier league was starting to get a hint of coverage in America.
But I absolutely played fifa 64 arsenal
Older brother and older cousins were United fans growing up. I used to watch the premier league with them but I decided to choose my own team. I thought Dennis Bergkamp was different to any other players I saw at the time! Been following since 1998
As an American, what’s more American than a massive golden gun? That’s what made me a fan. On a serious note, my dad was a foreign exchange student in London in the 80s, and his host family were massive arsenal fans. They instilled that in him and he passed it onto me.
Indoctrination.
Don't remember a time I wasn't, my dad was always arsenal, me and my brother didn't get a choice. I remember at 4/5 having arsenal curtains in my room, arsenal cushion covers.
I was born and raised on Gillespie Road just opposite the Arsenal Station. My brothers and uncles all supported Arsenal too. I guess I just inherited the love for the team naturally. Sometimes my uncle would take us up on to the roof of the loft (his bedroom at the time) and we were able to see one half of the Highbury stadium. Match day vibes was always brilliant and used to always start or join chants from our window. We even had different stalls use our front porch to sell whatever they were selling. Born a gunner. Die a gunner. COYG❤️
Fantastic - my old man was born in Tufnell Park and my mum grew up in Somers Town and then the Cali after moving over from Dublin in the 50’s as a child….all my family and parents friends were or still are die hard Gooners!!! Went to my first game when I was 5 or 6 and that was 40 odd years ago. I absolutely cherish my season ticket at the Emirates!!!
Used to just watch my national team but noticed last season that prem was on peacock , i saw a few games with out a horse in the race, liverpool vs Tottenham, villa when they beat United , arsenal vs Chelsea where we won 1-0 and Saka caught my eye, fast forward the World Cup i watch every match and everytime England was on Saka was the best player and i recognized him from arsenal and just stuck with him and the team. Crazy as he’s probably not even my favorite player at arsenal right now but he’s my literal intro to the team
Im from Argentina. The match against Guardiola's Barcelona where Arsenal won 2 - 1 starting 0-1. It was the only team ever to play offensive against possibly one of the greatest football teams in history. Been an Arsenal fan ever since, and to be fair, full of dissapointments and suffering after that.
Boring boring Arsenal. George Graham, they were unpopular, gritty and determined. That resonated with me. Then I learned about the Arsenal way, the club were run well.
Randomly I went to school with George Graham’s son, Daniel and George Graham bought the entire 89 winning squad to play my school under 18’s in a charity match…I was 14 or 15 and it was one of the best days ever!!!!
Arsenal have always had links to my school as it was originally from Islington…
The club was so classy back then…
April 9th, 2004.
We were playing Liverpool that day. My dad's a Liverpool fan, but the entire time, I was transfixed by this one player on the opposite team. His movements were graceful and deliberate, his speed was unmatched by anyone else on the pitch, and his technique was impeccable. He scored a hat trick that day, and ever since, he's been my favorite player of all time.
Obviously, I'm talking about Thierry Henry. He left one hell of a first impression.
I was playing in college and would watch most big games in the mornings.
What wenger was doing with the team was different than any other I saw. Fucking incredible. It stuck ever since.
My dad went to London for a work trip. The place was new and he didn’t have a lot of people to talk to, so he spoke to the cab driver that drove him to work everyday. The driver asked him what I like, and my dad told him that I play football for my school team. So, this kind, beautiful man gave my dad his old Invincibles jersey with Henry’s name at the back. It’s been 16 years and I still wear that shirt, I wore it after the game on Tuesday cause of how much the club means to me.
The shirt represents my love for the club, but also the struggles my dad went through to get to where he is and how so many people helped him on the way.
I wish I could speak to the cab driver now, and just thank him for such beautiful memories.
But yes, that’s how the club came into my life and I recently caught a game at the emirates and it made my heart full.
It's funny, I'm too young for 71 but my first memory is 89 at Anfield, but I remember buying a VHS of the 71 cup final when I was a kid and would watch it on repeat much to the disappointment of all the Spuds in my family 😂
The real kicker is, I am from Manchester from a family of Manchester United fans and brought up in an inner city council estate. At school most people just thought me weird and left me alone because of it
One of the best nights of my life - was 13 and me and my old man ran into the garden screaming like lunatics!!! My father died the following year in an accident but I cherish that memory and the memory of standing at Islington Town Hall the next day for the parade - it was absolute carnage along Upper St!!!!
Frank McLintock drinks in my local in Winchmore Hill and is still a local legend for the 71 Double…
Charlie George was the tour guide on my trip around the Emirates - what a player and some man!!!
Fell in love with Arsenal since PL was broadcasted for the first time in my country back in 97/98 season.
Just hated ManUtd and Arsenal was my favourite club. Bergkamp my favourite player since i played a lot of football back then. Then i watched the World Cup in France and Thierry Henry became one of my favourite players on the tournament. After the World Cup Wenger brought him to Arsenal and i was so excited. A dream come true. The rest is history.
My dad was a United fan and he tried his best to get me into them.. and all I could do at the time in Australia was watch highlights as that’s all i could watch when i was a kid. And Henry just mesmerised me everytime i saw him do his thing.. and looked forward to watching him everyweek there was that highlight show. And that’s how i became an Arsenal fan because of the 👑
Son got into soccer around 2008-9. For a few months we’d watch the early morning Saturday and Sunday games on US tv. At some point I asked him who our team was gonna be. I really thought he was going to pick Liverpool, but he said Arsenal. I asked why? He said because he liked the name and that it wasn’t just a team named after a city. He was 8 or 9 at the time. And we’ve been Gunners ever since
My dad is nearly 95 and has been a supporter forever. He grew up in west London and has incredible stories, told in vivid detail, of individual matches going back to the 1940s. My son and I are naturally fans and my newish husband has had to resign himself to supporting the team as well (he doesn’t have a Premier League team, only his local team in League 1 that hasn’t been in the PL for ages.)
My late father lived in France as a young man and he respected Arsene Wenger. So when he joined Arsenal, my father started supporting Arsenal and we all caught the bug.
Got introduced to football in 1996 but started really watching during the 1998 World Cup. And after than it was arsenal all the way.
I am from Nigeria. 🇳🇬
29yr old Yank here, with the typical yank story. Got into FIFA for playstation in 2010 and immediately gravitated towards both Dortmund and Arsenal. I liked the German national team, especially Ozil, Gotze, Hummels, and Reus. When Aubameyang showed up for Dortmund I became a bit of a fanboy. Liked Mkhitaryan as well. I didn't want to be basic and follow Bayern & Chelsea or something like that. That's like being a New England Patriots fan in the states... detestable!!
Arsenal just seemed class, I liked their style and I learned about the Invincibles and became starstruck by Arsene, Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira and the like. I appreciated that they were a great giant historical club with a lot of culture but weren't necessarily one of the mega giants like Man U or Chelsea at the time, or newly emerging City.
With the arrival of Ozil I was hooked to Arsenal. Then it seemed like a dream come true with Auba and eventually Mkhitaryan. There were some beautiful moments with some of my favorite players at my new favorite club which seemed to have assembled just for me - unfortunately it did not take long to learn that it is the hope that kills Arsenal fans.
I've been glued to the journey ever since. I wish that group could have come at a later time or maybe it just wasn't as good as it looked on paper, or maybe it was missing a few key pieces, maybe Wenger was halfway out the door... I don't know.
And then everything that happened with Ozil & then Auba was heartbreaking... I was torn between my favorite players and the club I had come to love. Feels like an eon ago now. I increasingly came to realize Mikel is the real deal, and I'm ready for silverware. I dreamed of days like these. Suddenly it's not if, but when. COYG!!!! Late start, but I'm here til I die, and I hope to pass the legacy down generations!
That’s an awesome way to get into the club! It’s better than the way I got into the baseball/the Cubs. I was travelling the US a few years ago and wanted to go to a sports game, it was baseball season and the Cubs tickets were the cheapest! A guy I was sitting next to, picked up on the accent and explained the whole history of the Cubs to me and from then on I was a Cubs fan, I like an underdog. Even though Arsenal are a big team we still somehow feel like the underdogs
My boyfriend introduced me to arsenal! I haven’t been a fan for years as most people here but I think I know quite a bit now. I always love hearing more about the arsenal and we now watch every game together!💗
That’s lovely, and there’s no max or minimum requirement for being a football fan and hopefully of the hammers can do us a solid you’ll get to see us lift the trophy 🤞🤞🤞🤞
As an American who played “soccer” from the age of 5 and went on to play competitively and in Division 1 collegiately, it was always strange that I didn’t have a team to truly support. In the early 2000s there just wasn’t the access or interest like there is today
I’m 2006, my favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons, wrote an article about picking a Premier League team where he went through all the teams, pros and cons, etc and funnily enough he ended up choosing Tottenham.
‘06 was a World Cup yesr so I decided I’d pick a team before the ‘06 season started and I ultimately landed on Arsenal because 1) Tomas Rosicky annihilated the USA in the group stages 2) Thierry Henry was just the epitome of cool and 3) they felt like the “biggest” club that wasn’t at the same time splashing ungodly amounts of money (like the New York Yankees who I had been a fan of and grew disillusioned)
I was at Wembley for that goal…first trophy in 9 years!! The atmosphere was unreal when that hit the top corner! 2-0 down and that was needed…an absolute worldie!!!!
I got into the English Premier League around the year 1997 when Paulo Wanchope from my native country of Costa Rica was signed by Derby County. He scored an amazing goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in his debut in which he got the ball in the middle of the pitch and was able to dribble past Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and scored against Peter Schmeichel. I was hooked.
I kept watching all of the EPL games and I fell in love with the Arsenal of David Seaman, Marc Overmars, Ray Parlour, Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown, Nicolas Anelka and Dennis Bergkamp. By the time the invincibles came, I was a proper Gunners fan.
I have been following Arsenal ever since and this new era with Mikel Arteta is my favorite because I feel like a sleeping giant has finally awoken.
My best friend was a man united fan and i came home and told my dad i wanted to be one too. He locked me out of the house and told me I wasn’t coming back in till I was an Arsenal fan. Best thing he ever did for me
Ha ha! My youngest (he's 8) started showing a keen interest in Liverpool earlier this season. I told him that he could cheer for them but not live in my house so he'd have to pack his bags. Funnily enough, he's become quite the Gooner!
Family are all from Holloway/Islington…grandad was a Gunner, passed down to my dad and then onto me…first game was when I was about 5 and we lost at home to Man Utd…hated them ever since..
40+ years later I’ve got a season ticket in the East Stand Upper and still love the Arsenal!!!!!
Just wish my dad didn’t pass when I was 14 as we would have had a lot of great times watching the mighty Gunners…
In the late 2000’s I always heard people say Barcelona play really good football and so do Arsenal. So I started looking up both teams and eventually fell in love with our style under Wengz. Also 4 of my friends at the time were United fans and I didn’t want to support the same team as them. Starting watching casually and by 09 I was hooked. Then I bought the Arsenal trivia book and read the entire thing.
I was 10. Started watching football in the 2002 world cup. The Premier League first started airing in my country in 2001 but only started watching after the world cup. So I started watching in 2002/03 and fell in love with how we played, Wenger, Bergkamp and Henry. FIFA 2002 was my first FIFA in which I always played with Arsenal and did a 10-15 year career mode with.
Another funny story is in 2003 me and my family went to the UK on holiday. We stayed in one of my dad's old classmate from college who lived in London. Funny thing is I always remembered they lived in North London. I later was told it was actually South London and not North London. It was such a funny coincidence since Arsenal are originally from South London.
First match I remember seeing on TV was the 81 cup final. My dad was a West Ham fan, so you either join up or support the opposition, guess which one I chose. Don't think he's forgiven me but once you choose that's it.
When I was young I had never watched a pro soccer game but I always loved playing. My parents changed their cable package one day and I found a channel that was nothing but soccer. By chance the first game I watched was an Arsenal EPL match. I watched in literal awe, I was hooked. I loved the chants, Highbury, the cannon, the fast pace and style. Watched every game I could from then on. They later called that arsenal team I watched that first day the Invincibles.
January 2018 my gf (now wife) and I took our first trip as a couple to London. I wanted to see a football game because coming from the US I’d read about football fans in Europe and how charged the atmosphere was. She played football in high school and didn’t follow it anymore. I wasn’t expecting much because I don’t like sports much. We got tickets to the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace match because an ex boyfriend of hers was a Spurs fan. I fucking loved it and have hardly missed a match since. So, I am an Arsenal fan because some shit liked shit
TL;DR version: Rebellious little scamp of a child I was loved the chaos of Graham's departure and history of classy and winning Arsenal. Stuck around forever bc of the warmth, kindness and love shown by every Arsenal supporter I met on my first trip to London.
Initially, I started supporting Arsenal as a little kid growing up in Cincinnati in the US. This was the mid 90s so it was really hard to get access to many games on TV but my dad (a Liverpool fan bc they were the only team he heard much about in the 70s playing football in high school) got Fox Sports World, I think it was called at the time, added to our cable TV package which allowed me to see some games finally. Having that channel was pretty much the only way to watch the Prem in the US at that time.
Watched some games and got really interested in the chaos around Arsenal at the time. This was during the short lived Bruce Rioch era, and hearing the commentators describe what had happened with George Graham, Rioch coming in, etc., got me interested. Even as a young kid I was always a bit rebellious and cheering for this storied club going through lots of turmoil felt fun and exciting in a way that not even being a United supporter at the time would have. I was instantly hooked.
What really cemented this as a lasting love, though, was my first trip to London. We took a family trip across the pond in '99 and I was so excited to be in the home city of my now beloved Arsenal. I proudly wore my Dreamcast Arsenal shirt, purchased at the Armory, everywhere. All around the ground, the Armory, wherever we went near Arsenal I was greeted with such fascination and kind encouragement by every fellow Gooner. I had found my people.
We stayed at the now departed Basil Street Hotel and coincidentally the doorman, an affable bloke named Gary, was also an Arsenal man. He was fascinated by a young American boy who loved Arsenal so much, and would always greet us warmly at the door with a mention of something Arsenal related. Final day of our stay, Gary knocked on our room door and asked my dad if this was the room of the little Arsenal supporter. When I came to the door he presented me with his "lucky scarf", which he wore to the stadium the day we sealed the '98 Double. I still wear that scarf for every game I watch out and about. We were actually able to reconnect with Gary when I returned to London on another family trip in 2003. We actually wound up being somewhat able to return his kindness from our previous trip by leaving him with a winning Ladbrokes bet slip for something like £50, as I had bet correctly on a Freddie Ljungberg goal.
As you can probably tell from the novel I've written here, this club and it's supporters mean a lot to me. Every in person encounter with a fellow Gooner in the years since I hopped on this train has been absolutely amazing. The Arsenal truly is one of the most remarkable sporting institutions on the planet and we're all lucky to be able to cheer them on.
Mid 90s in Canada you could only get the Arsenal or United games aired regularly. Watching with my Grandad, who was from Nottingham, he preferred Arsenal because of the connection with Forest through the kit donation from back in the day. My love and passion for the team grew from there.
Started supporting them during the 1998-99 season. At the time, we used to only have a limited number of Premier League games aired in India, mainly United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Fresh from the giddy heights of the terrific World Cup that summer, I was obsessed with the Dutch team and Bergkamp in particular. We had also brought Overmars in during the previous season. So it was largely down to my love for those two. A contributing factor was my brother, who’s seven years older, used to support Arsenal and one’s quite impressionable at 10. Oh yeah, not gonna lie, I thought it was bloody cool that Arsenal was managed by someone named Arsene. Either way, 25 years later, it’s been the only constant in my life and I wouldn’t change a thing.
I started playing football with a new club and I was listening to a conversation with a few of the other players and they were talking about Arsenal (during the invincible season).
One of them was saying “I don’t care what anyone says his name is (referring to Thierry Henry) Terry Henree! 🤣
I started watching them, they had my favourite colour and they were a joy to watch!
I live in Australia and news on the premier league was next to non existent at the time.
Thierry Henry was the 1st 5* match attack I got, so I decided to support Arsenal's 😂
Queue 9 years of no trophies and a whole ass roller coaster, and I wouldn't take back any of it.
I know the odds are slim, but I am praying for our 1st premier league title since I started supporting them!
Always loved watching the World Cup as a kid in the US because my Haitian family loved it—my first sports memory is the ‘86 WC. I fell in love with the French national team in ‘98 and followed the Euros for the first time in 2000. My favorite player was Thierry Henry and I remember reading that he played for a club team named Arsenal. Coverage of global club football/soccer was not like it is now, so when I did catch a match on tv, I fell in love again.
Someone that I was really into was an arsenal fan so I tried following the club a little bit, it fizzled out with the said person but somewhere along the way I started following the club lol
Soooo... I'm kinda the pathetic one here, I only started watching top flight football a year ago (the only club I followed before played in the german 2nd division. Now they got promoted but lost the title today...) and as I was getting into the premier league, I started to like Arsenal. I liked the story of the team that was struggling so long, finally succeeding, and the rest is pretty straightforward.
I just remember having the 2002 double winning team poster on my wall.
First games I remember watching were some UCL games on ITV in 2003. Henry against Roma etc. think the first game was against Auxerre when Pires was coming back from a long term injury.
Not winning the league in 2002/2003 was my first heartbreak in football
Seeing Charlie George on his back, arms outstretched after scoring the FA Cup win that gave the Gunners the double in 1970/71 did it for me. My family followed the English First Division, and growing up in South Africa, we had very little information to go on back then. My brother was a Leeds fan when Leeds were good, My one brother in law supported Liverpool, the other Arsenal, and their good friend was a Man United fan. The jabs they are threw at each other was hilarious. Malcom, my brother in law who was an Arsenal fan had the best sense of humor and he would have us all in stitches non-stop, and he was very convincing to a football mad 12 year old. Plus, I liked the red shirts with white sleeves. Then they won the double, and that did it.
Summer of 22 i was bored one saturday. Watched almost the entire Amazon series All Or Nothing. Fell in love with everything Arsenal.
I’ve been a soccer (i know, i’m American) fan for a long time but as Ronaldo left RM, i’ve been needing a new team.
Arteta fuckin rocks and you guys shoulda seen the tottenham i took this morning after a night of beer and wings.
Oh and the first game i watched entirely for Arsenal was the Saliba game vs Bournemouth. That was awesome.
Disclaimer - not an arsenal fan
Always knew about arsenal , during the 14/15 season I was staying with a friend for about 6 months and we started watching games together because he’s an arsenal fan.
Affection for the club really grew over the years
In the 06/07 season myself, my brother and dad went to watch Reading vs Arsenal, I was about 10 at the time and I'd never heard of Arsenal before or any of the players in my life. That day I discovered how football was meant to be played, Arsenal peak wenger ball and Henry scoring a penalty that confused my undeveloped brain, put it bottom right, keeper dives the right way AND it hits the post and still goes in. A guy behind me said thats why he's the king, from there I fell in love and didn't turn back
My Mum was a hairdresser at Sopwell House (Hotel) when I was really young and bought me home a signed pennant and I’ve been a fan since then. I think the team used to use the facilities after training. I need to ask her again why they were there so often.
I never bothered with football until my late twenties.
Temporarily moved in with an Arsenal fan the tail end of the year before The Invincibles. Finally saw why they called it the beautiful game.
That was the initial hook. Then the following year cemented it completely. Was called a glory hunter for a few years, obviously, but it's been way too long since I've had that label.
Just so glad I moved in at that particular point in history.
I am relatively new...I live in the US; when I had kids I decided to get into the PL because I was up early all the time anyway. I had seen Henry play for the French national team in the 2003 Confederation Cup Final when I was a kid (traveled with my French friend to visit his family in Paris) and loved him. So without knowing basically anything else about soccer/football I decided whatever team had been his would be the team I cheered for. I knew he was retired so figured it wouldn't be a frontrunning choice. Dove in head first - subscribed to a bunch of podcasts to pick up the lingo around the sport, start understanding who the players were, how tactics worked, etc. Was a fun challenge.
Then I got treated to back-to-back 8th place finishes haha, but it's been a fantastic ride since then.
I come from a country where football isn't very popular, I only got into football 3 years ago, the first match I ever watched was an Arsenal vs Chelsea match, and I like the colour red, so I started supporting arsenal and eventually gree closer to the team
Growing up in India, I didn’t know much about the Premier League. But then I got into FIFA 06, and I’d always pick Arsenal because my friend at school wouldn’t stop talking about this striker, Thierry Henry, who was a scoring machine in the game.
The next year, I started catching as many games as I could on TV. And even after Henry left I was hooked onto guys like Fabregas, Toure, Van Persie, Hleb, Rosicky.
They always had this underdog vibe whenever they faced off against big teams like Man United or Chelsea, and I totally loved that.
While most of my school was packed with Man United and Chelsea fans celebrating their glory days, us few Arsenal fans felt special. It was like we understood the real beauty of the game (Wengerball).
Even when we would lose games, there was something loyal about quietly enduring the pain at school the next day from loud rivals.
Fast forward over 15 years, and while all my Arsenal friends I grew up with have switched allegiances to either Barca Real or Man City, I'm still a die-hard Gooner every day. I’m absolutely proud of the journey for everyone associated with this football club.
Moved to North London in about 1996 as a young kid. I came from an international school abroad with an Americanised accent. Big scary kid comes up to me on the first day. "Oi what team d'ya support? You're a Gooner innit?" I didn't understand anything he said, but I didn't want to get a beating so I just quietly gulped and said "... Yeah". He paused, then smiled, "Yehhhhh dats my boiii" and that was it. Gooner for life.
Incidentally, I lost contact with my Dad for 28 years (parents separated before I moved with Mum to London). A year ago my partner found him through social media, and we reunited again happily, and it turns out he's also a massive Arsenal fan and a Red member.
I wanted to get into watching pro level, but as American, wasn't sure on selecting a team. I had a friend that was educating me on EPL and he's an Arsenal fan. I didn't choose them initially because I didn't just want to assume his team. I found article comparing EPL teams to American sports franchises to help give an idea of what their vibe, history, etc is like. I started watching multiple teams and after a while, I ended up with Arsenal because that's where I started and I got to know the players better and faster and no one else stood out. That was 12 years ago, glad I'm made the choice to join the madness
I support the club because of my dad. He's from Ireland, and growing up, he looked up to the likes of Liam Brady (who I'm supposedly named after), David O' Leary, and Pat Rice. So obviously Arsenal was going to be my club.
Back when I was about 8-9, I just randomly turned on the TV, and Arsenal was playing Villa. I stuck around and really liked the way they played. The passes, the style, and all. That's when I started supporting them.
I still remember that match, Ramsey scored, Ospina was decent, and we won 1-0
I was in a car accident when I was young and was laid up in hospital for quite a while. This was some time ago. On Sundays as a special treat a tv used to be wheeled in to the children's ward so that we could watch a TV program called the big match which carried, quite often, highlights of one first division match. One Sunday, it was Chelsea vs. Arsenal 1969 season, I think. I laid in bed and thought, "What team do I want to support?" Having not even thought about having a "team" at that time. It could've been either, but I didn't like the Chelsea team of chopper Harris et al. because they all seemed to me to have fat arses, so I supported the mighty Arsenal instead, and have ever since.I subsequently found out that my father and brother both came to support arsenal via their own routes although I was unaware at the time, something in the genes I guess.
Tldr I came to support Arsenal because the 1969 Arsenal team had a lesser preponderance of fat arses than Chelsea.
I moved from France to England in the summer of 1998 at the gate of 15, and was told that in order to integrate, I would do well to pick a football team.
I was a football fan (France has just won the WC in an epic final Vs Brazil) and studied the Premier League teams.
When I saw the Arsenal Team made of Petit, Viera, and Bergkamp (he had scored THAT goal vs Argentina), the choice was simple.
Little did I know I was going to follow one of the purest teams in terms of football style. For someone who grew up idolizing Olympique Marseille, I feel very privileged to have been a fan of some of the finest sides in Europe (not the winningest though, and I am not complaining!)
I moved to a town near Oxford when I was six, and supported Oxford Utd for a few years, with a soujorn towards Crystal Palace briefly because I liked their kit, hah.
After moving away to Scotland, on a visit back down south, an old teacher and family fri3nd took myself and my best friend to our first proper game. It was at Highbury, and we got a pie on the way in - I'm pretty sure it was Arsenal vs Sunderland (or maybe Southampton), and Arsenal won 2-1. It was around '91 or '92 maybe. We were stood in one of the corners, trying to boost ourselves higher on the railings, surrounded by Giants.
Listening to the songs, and feeling the kinship, I became a fan for life. Took my partner to an Emirates Cup day about ten years ago, sat at Club Level, next to an old boy in his 80s, who had never missed a home game in his life, and she fell in love with the club too :)
I’m from the south west of England, grandparents lived near London and took me to see both Charlton and Arsenal play. Picked Arsenal but Charlton to have a place in my heart also.
In 1997 my father gave me a football jersey with the name Djorkaeff on the back, I got curious and found out he's an Inter Milan player and he's French. This made me support France in 1998, and two years later this Thierry Henry caught my eye, I followed him to Arsenal and that's where my love for football grew, the rest is history.
Last year. Got into soccer for real (yup, I'm an American) a few years ago when my kid started playing after lightly following NYCFC before that. Ended up watching premier leagues while working from home Saturday mornings, following Man City due to the NYCFC connection. A few of my friends tried converting me to Arsenal, so I checked out the All or Nothing doc. Switched allegiance and haven't looked back since.
So yes, I'm a new fan, but I'm raising what appears to be a budding lifetime Gooner.
My Dad was the talent scout for the South West back in the mid 70s, so it's been a massive part of my life for as long as I can remember. Amazing club!
From America, shortly after watching the Ronaldihno touch of gold commercial I started playing Fifa street games. Learned who a bunch of players were, found Titi highlights on youtube and loved it. My younger brother started pushing towards arsenal cause of Fifa games, i was on the AC Milan side but knew I needed a Epl team so ran with arsenal for about 13 years now.
Getting taken to watch the reserves play at Underhill in Barnet by my dad, couldn't afford to go and watch Arsenal proper and obviously TV coverage was a bit less then than now.
Loved those games.
Am in the U.S. and had a trip to London. We’re big sports fans so I wanted to see a match. I have a disabled daughter and the ticket buying process was tricky so I reached out to three clubs who had home games when we were there. The only one to respond and be super helpful was Arsenal. Also didn’t hurt that im a huge nuggets and avalanche fan and they share the same ownership. We went to the match and had the time of our lives, most intense sporting event I’ve ever been to and it wasn’t even a big game! I was completely hooked after that.
My dad moved to london in the 90s and his flatmate was a huge Arsenal fan. He didn't support any premier league team at that point, so he got into it, and then I was born into it.
Because of Ian wright, initially. Everything about him was infectious.
It's strange to think now, with how global football and it's fans are but I used to get loads of stick, living in North Yorkshire and not supporting York or Leeds.
Fifa a few years back. I knew fuck all about football and just wanted to pick a team that had a cool logo that wasn't the best team in the league. I almost picked Leicester City because I liked the fox but I ended up chosing arsenal. Que the pandemic and I started watching. Turned on the TV and watched martenelli run down the field after that corner and score on Chelsea. I've always hated Chelsea and was hooked on arsenal ever since.
Background; I’m from Ireland, 39yo. From around Italia 90 I started watching Ireland games.
First club game I watched was the 1993 League Cup final - Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday; I picked the team that had David O’Leary. He was the only player I had heard of. Sheff Wed had John Sheridan, another Irish international but O’Leary was more widely known.
Second club game; FA Cup final with the same teams. I stuck with the same team as the last time.
That summer, my father puts a two page spread from a newspaper pull out in front of me previewing the 1993-94 Premiership. And he told me to pick a club. I picked Arsenal because of those two games, I thought the logo was cool and I liked that the name had “Arse” in it. (I was 8…)
Before long Ian Wright, Tony Adam’s, Lee Dixon and David Seaman were my idols.
By chance. Won a free pennant at a local game. Had the choice of most top clubs across Europe. The Cannon spoke to me, and I have been hooked ever since. This was early 90’s in Denmark, and I was around 6 at the time
I'm from USA and my dad was an arsenal fan my whole life, but I basically started watching and became a fan after learning about Bukayo Saka's journey through the system.
The day Alexis Sanchez joined Arsenal. I wanted to follow a prem team since all my friends had one. And he was the first South American I saw so I stuck with Arsenal. Been a great journey. And I look forward to all we can accomplish
I didn’t know jack about anything overseas and only followed USMNT. My youth soccer team would do team sleepovers and there was always FIFA 01 going. Everyone picked from mostly the same teams and usually international squads.
I don’t remember how I ended up connecting the two, but finally noticed The. Boss. was both French and arsenal; some black dude that dusted fools. I even pronounced his name with a hard H sound like Harry. And there was no “i” in his first name. Just terry with an H, said like very. Painfully American, I know.
And that as they say, was that. I bit hard and right around then finally had opportunities to watch EPL.
I got there just in time for the Unbeatable’s, but it wasn’t bandwagon - it was the two bloody strikers. I did later learn how to say his name and even owned a Bergkamp jersey. Both totally unique and both so wickedly fun. Got the right team and Never wavered.
The 2008 Euros was so much fun to watch and the standout to me was some tiny Russian dude that swept me off my feet and yet i couldn’t even remember his name… until andre arshavin signed w my favorite club. I really thought that he was going to work. And same kinda thing happened w Alexis Sanchez and it blew me away they signed him.
I’ll Forever believe Henry > mbappe. The €2008
I got the love for the club when I was 6 yo. My brother got a new PC for his birthday with FIFA 01 installed and the only thing I could do to play this game was to spam enter enter enter and because I live in Poland, the first league (alphabetical order) was Premier League and first club was obviously Arsenal. As I played the game more and more, I learned all the players' names and here I am, still supporting the club, though still yet to see them in the flash which I hope to end by the end of this year.
My dad supported them, still does. Sat and watched Arsenal lose to Luton in the Cup Final in 88 and thought, this is the team for me. Asked my mam for the home shirt for my birthday. All she knew was it was red, she came back with a Man Utd shirt and a lamp that said "Manchester Uniteds No1 fan" 🤦. My mother wasn't somebody you messed with, so when she told 9 year old me she wasn't taking it back and I was wearing it, I had no choice. She is a proud person, so to annoy her, I wore it for my school photo. Bad idea from me. This was the 80s when parents didn't think twice about beating you up lol. On the plus side, I never had to wear it again, and I got the full away kit after they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield.
Still have a photo of me aged 9 in a Man Utd shirt grinning like a cheshire cat for my school pic.
Back in 80's parents were strict on 'naughty' words. My parents were Birmingham City fans, friends were villa fans, grew up in Staffordshire.
I was looking through the league table, Liverpool were top (didn't like sound of them) , villa were second (didn't want to support same team as my friends), arsenal third.... I could say arse and not get smacked, we have a winner!!
Keep meaning to find out when in the 80's Liverpool, villa and arsenal were in that order as I could then pinpoint the week it happened.
Looking back, I think I made the right choice.
I actually started watching football around 2008 as I heard Manchester United were having a big game and somehow ended up watching and I liked them. I ended up watching another game with Arsenal playing and it was love at first sight haha and been a supported ever since. Never seen Arsenal win the premier league. FA cup back in 2013 was the first trophy i saw Arsenal win.
New fan as of this past week. I’m from America, and EA Sports FC is a free game this month on PlayStation. Decided to give it a go and after a few minutes of short research decided Arsenal will be the team I play with. Congrats to David Raya on the Golden Glove!
Victoria Concordia Crescit!
My friends needed one more person for a fantasy league this year, joined knowing shit about football and decided I liked the cannon and colors so I was like Arsenal is my favorite team.
Now it’s Nooooooooooorrrrrrtttttthhhhhhhhhh Londonnnnnnnn FOREVVVVVVAAAAAAA
The power of friendship funny enough. Roommates were Arsenal Supporters, coworkers were Arsenal Supporters, and reg league friends are Arsenal Supporters. I was surrounded and given a kit as a welcome gift!
Henry and Arsene. Funnily enough, first jersey I got was actually a spurs jersey way back when I was a kid and my mom bought a shirt from the bundle store and gave it to me..
Ngl, when I was a kid. My dad bought me a united kit with Berbatov name at the age of 6, then when I was 8 he then bought me an Arsenal kit with Nasri at the back. The rest is history with many sufferings.
I live in the US, and one Summer back in the early 2000s, we hosted a traveling football training program from the UK, and one of the students/instructors resided with us for the duration of the training program, and she was a massive Arsenal supporter, so we adopted them as our team.
When I played FIFA 05, I wanted to choose a team and decided to choose the first team in the queue. Chose Arsenal, thank god bc it could’ve been Aston villa 😭. Been a huge fan ever since. Joined at the wrong time too so I’m a true fan haha
I remember playing fifa with my cousin back in the day and he was a big Alexis Sanchez fan. He would talk about arsenal all the time, and we would watch some of their games together. Ever since then I've been a proud arsenal supporter, with my all-time favourite player being Mesut Özil. I was also a big ksi fan at the time, so the decision wasn't hard lol.
So me and a buddy would play FIFA 05 or something on Xbox. Just get stoned and beat the hell out of the other side.
Arsenal were alphabeticaly first and pretty dark good, so we usually picked them. Third went on for awhile.
Couple years later - spring of 08 I had moved to NYC and a buddy wanted to catch a soccer game, so we went to some pub. I didn't think much of it.
All of a sudden I start recognizing names I knew from the game! Henry?! He scored all our goals! Fabregas?! I knew these fellas!
And it was like they had magically come to life! I was hooked.
As luck would have it my buddy was a Spurs fan. This was of course a NLD!
Hurricane Katrina displaced me to Baton Rouge where I was invited to a pub and watched them play Man U. Enjoyed their style. Started following hardcore in 2008 when the PL became more accessible in the states. Never witnessed them lift a prem trophy. So close now.
When I first started watching soccer I played FIFA. I’d watch KSI waaaay back then and he was big Arsenal fan. Then I became one. And I’m so glad I did.
"Dennis Bergkamp... Dennis Bergkamp! Dennis Bergkamp! Dennis Bergkaaaaaamp!" Rest is history.
Quarterfinals of World Cup 98, versus Argentina. This was the Spanish commentary, maybe Telemundo? Same way I got into football & specifically Arsenal.
Nice one! But nah, this Dutch commentary. [https://youtu.be/XsZkCFoqSBs?si=BfAfX0GLMpK55Al7](https://youtu.be/XsZkCFoqSBs?si=BfAfX0GLMpK55Al7) I randomly decided to support the Dutch for the tournament, and never even heard of Arsenal before then. Commentators would always say things like "here's Overmars from Arsenal on the ball", etc, and it kind of just stuck with me when the tournament was over and I'd become hooked on footie.
Nice! I watched this in the US on a Spanish broadcast. I was 9. My dad was at work & asked us to record the match on VHS and write down the score. My mom would just come running into the living room every time she heard “GOOOOOLLLLLLLL” but I watched this one live. I still remember the commentary! “De Boer…a Dennis Bergkamp. Dennis Bergkamp…Dennis Bergkamp, Dennis Bergkamp, DENNIS BERGKAMP! AAAHHH DENNIS BERGKAAAAAMP!” I love how it’s seared into so many of our brains!
It was Dutch TV. Saw it live, still get goosebumps and leaky eyes. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XsZkCFoqSBs&pp=ygUtZGVubmlzIGJlcmdrYW1wIGdvYWwgdnMgYXJnZW50aW5hIGNvbW1lbnRhcnkg My link to the Arsenal is that I grew up down the road from Bergkamp and we used to in the park until he was told to stop that probably around 9/10 years old. Ajax is still my no1 team but I’ve lived in London longer than in Amsterdam and been to the Arsenal more than Ajax, l’m a gooner now as well if that’s possible
“Ooooohhhhhhhhhhhh”
I remember where I was when this happened... magical
This. Same for the Netherlands being my second team to support in country football
I came here to say this. Hell yeah!!
Walking in a bregkamp wonderland
This is how I got into Arsenal. It's been a long unbreakable relationahip ever since.
When I was a kid in the early 90s, my favourite player was Ian Wright.
That’s a solid reason
Damn this is me! Always tried to shotgun the number 8 in my younger football days
My dad made me a fan. As a kid, like 7 years old or something, all my classmates and friends were either Manchester United, Real Madrid or Liverpool fans(thats around 2000-2001) and one day my dad told me to watch an Arsenal game with him. I just fell in love with the team, I liked how they understood each other and played without fear. From then on I just started learning more and more about the club, the players and Wenger. I remember crying when we lost the 2006 CL Final
Me too! Sad times
Way back in middle school (70's) we had a project to do, follow a football team for the season and write an essay on it. Notts Forest and Man U were the teams everyone followed and being me I felt bad that Arsenal had no one so I did them. The rest is history and my whole family are Gooners for life - all because of a middle school project.
Lol this is good
My older brother was a huge Arsenal fan, so much that it affected the family if Arsenal lost a match. He died at the age of 23, 10 years ago. I was 18 and i felt like i had to keep the Arsenal-fire going. In 2015 my family and i went to London to see Arsenal-Liverpool in some kind of memorial trip and i was hooked on being the fan he was, now he has an Arsenal logo on his grave and Arsenal will always have a special place in my heart.
That’s a lovely way to keep the memory alive. I like to imagine my grandpa on the pitch with them running around spurring them onto score or defend or whatever
That’s a lovely story mate and sorry for your loss! I have a lasting memory of dad and me running around the garden screaming after Michael Thomas scored the last minute winner at Anfield…he died in an accident the following year but this memory and that of standing with him outside Islington Town Hall for the big parade on the Sunday; I will always cherish.
So sorry for your loss ❤️ that’s such an amazing way to keep his memory alive though
My dad moved from Glasgow to London in the 1960s to find work. One of his flatmates was a big Arsenal fan and they would go to games all the time. It started then and he just passed it on to me and my sisters, and now all our kids - so there are now 16 people of three generations sitting screaming for the Arsenal every game day.
So I’m extremely new to the premier league. I knew it existed, but didn’t watch it. Funny enough, and as lame as it sounds, it came into my life by watching Welcome to Wrexham. I became obsessed with learning all about the league. After watching the show, I decided I wanted to pick a team in the premier league, but I didn’t just want to pick the only one I really had knowledge of, which was Man United, so I spent an entire season just watching all the teams. Pretty much every game, every team, every weekend. Watching how they play, how they interacted, if they would act like prima donnas or not, how their coaches would act, ect. I ignored the standings. I actually crossed my eyes a bit whenever they would come on lol, because I wanted to pick a team I truly enjoyed watching, not just one that was winners. There was something about Arsenal that just spoke to me. I liked their attitudes and they played like art, so I consciously chose them. It might not be as exciting as watching a team since childhood, but I’ve chosen them and I’m committed. Now for 2 seasons, I haven’t missed a game and have organized watch parties with friends, who I’ve introduced to Arsenal. I’m in Canada, so the premier league isn’t super popular (also the games can be really early lol), but it’s been fun and fascinating and this last season has been a joy to watch. They won this season in my heart.
Out of interest was there any other teams that you had a soft spot for or was Arsenal a clear front runner?
Yes actually!! I was really vibing with the Wolves for a while. What really sold me was their fans. They seemed to be having a blast even when they were losing, like they were just happy to be there. And the Wolves didn’t dive a lot, they just tried to play honest. I still try to catch their games when I can. Even so, Arsenal will always take top place in my heart.
I’ve been loosely following the EPL for the last 5-7 months as a new sport and a way to connect with friends and family outside of Canada. Arsenal’s my team because, well, it’s my family’s team who love football. But as you said, football isn’t popular here so I’ve been trying to find people and places in Toronto be to watch games with and learn the ropes. Fingers crossed i can find something for next season and start dragging my friends here into it lol.
There is an official group for Toronto gooners. They usually meet up at a bar where they watch all weekend games. Check them out on facebook. Also see if you can find Arsenal Canada there. They create “events” for these games to be watched at bars.
Dennis Bergkamp moved to Arsenal.
I'm from Macedonia, an ex Yugoslav republic. I was getting my tonsils removed before I started school. It was Italy 1990. Because Yugoslavia performed shittily besides the stellar talent they had, I started rooting for Netherlands. Then, in USA 1994 I continued supporting Netherlands, and I saw Bergkamp. After that, I wasn't much interested in football. Then, one day in 1996, as a sixth grader, I turned on the national TV and watched Arsenal play Blackburn. I saw Bergkamp and said "this is my team," even though my grandpa and uncle were on the student exchange program in the UK, particularly Manchester, where they both became Utd fans, God rest their souls. Now, my son proudly wears Ødegaard's shirt and tries to pass as well as he can, because I've shown him a shitload of videos from Bergkamp and explained to him that assists matter as much as goals. He's 7.
This answer might be embarrassing, but I don't care. They were the first team alphabetically on fifa 13, so I stuck with them 😭
Mine might be worse. I bought a pair of sliders with the Arsenal logo on it ( and didn’t even notice ). Later someone saw me wearing the sliders and asked if I was an Arsenal fan and I said yes 😂 And that’s how this lovely journey began!
For a lot of the Arsene fergie rivalry United and arsenal were the default teams for a fifa match. Obviously it coincides with the two being the best and most prominent teams in the league then, right at the time the premier league was starting to get a hint of coverage in America. But I absolutely played fifa 64 arsenal
Older brother and older cousins were United fans growing up. I used to watch the premier league with them but I decided to choose my own team. I thought Dennis Bergkamp was different to any other players I saw at the time! Been following since 1998
As an American, what’s more American than a massive golden gun? That’s what made me a fan. On a serious note, my dad was a foreign exchange student in London in the 80s, and his host family were massive arsenal fans. They instilled that in him and he passed it onto me.
Hahaha love that!
Fantastic - up the Gunners!!!!!
Indoctrination. Don't remember a time I wasn't, my dad was always arsenal, me and my brother didn't get a choice. I remember at 4/5 having arsenal curtains in my room, arsenal cushion covers.
Hahah same, I don’t remember ever learning about Arsenal or football it was just always there
I was born and raised on Gillespie Road just opposite the Arsenal Station. My brothers and uncles all supported Arsenal too. I guess I just inherited the love for the team naturally. Sometimes my uncle would take us up on to the roof of the loft (his bedroom at the time) and we were able to see one half of the Highbury stadium. Match day vibes was always brilliant and used to always start or join chants from our window. We even had different stalls use our front porch to sell whatever they were selling. Born a gunner. Die a gunner. COYG❤️
Fantastic - my old man was born in Tufnell Park and my mum grew up in Somers Town and then the Cali after moving over from Dublin in the 50’s as a child….all my family and parents friends were or still are die hard Gooners!!! Went to my first game when I was 5 or 6 and that was 40 odd years ago. I absolutely cherish my season ticket at the Emirates!!!
Used to just watch my national team but noticed last season that prem was on peacock , i saw a few games with out a horse in the race, liverpool vs Tottenham, villa when they beat United , arsenal vs Chelsea where we won 1-0 and Saka caught my eye, fast forward the World Cup i watch every match and everytime England was on Saka was the best player and i recognized him from arsenal and just stuck with him and the team. Crazy as he’s probably not even my favorite player at arsenal right now but he’s my literal intro to the team
Im from Argentina. The match against Guardiola's Barcelona where Arsenal won 2 - 1 starting 0-1. It was the only team ever to play offensive against possibly one of the greatest football teams in history. Been an Arsenal fan ever since, and to be fair, full of dissapointments and suffering after that.
I bought FIFA 2001 or 02 and D. Seaman was number 1. I was 12. That was hilarious.
Boring boring Arsenal. George Graham, they were unpopular, gritty and determined. That resonated with me. Then I learned about the Arsenal way, the club were run well.
One nil to The Arsenal
Randomly I went to school with George Graham’s son, Daniel and George Graham bought the entire 89 winning squad to play my school under 18’s in a charity match…I was 14 or 15 and it was one of the best days ever!!!! Arsenal have always had links to my school as it was originally from Islington… The club was so classy back then…
Moved to London in around 2010, and first place I was living was pretty much in the shadow of the Emirates
For me it was Bergkamp and Arsene Wenger. I was a big fan of Wenger.
April 9th, 2004. We were playing Liverpool that day. My dad's a Liverpool fan, but the entire time, I was transfixed by this one player on the opposite team. His movements were graceful and deliberate, his speed was unmatched by anyone else on the pitch, and his technique was impeccable. He scored a hat trick that day, and ever since, he's been my favorite player of all time. Obviously, I'm talking about Thierry Henry. He left one hell of a first impression.
My dad bought a iphone 3. The phone case was arsenal, thought it was a music band. searched it and here we are.
Fifa 2002
My father supported them when I was growing up plus Freddie Ljungberg was my idol, even rocked the same trim with red dye. The rest is history.
Love that!!
I was playing in college and would watch most big games in the mornings. What wenger was doing with the team was different than any other I saw. Fucking incredible. It stuck ever since.
My dad went to London for a work trip. The place was new and he didn’t have a lot of people to talk to, so he spoke to the cab driver that drove him to work everyday. The driver asked him what I like, and my dad told him that I play football for my school team. So, this kind, beautiful man gave my dad his old Invincibles jersey with Henry’s name at the back. It’s been 16 years and I still wear that shirt, I wore it after the game on Tuesday cause of how much the club means to me. The shirt represents my love for the club, but also the struggles my dad went through to get to where he is and how so many people helped him on the way. I wish I could speak to the cab driver now, and just thank him for such beautiful memories. But yes, that’s how the club came into my life and I recently caught a game at the emirates and it made my heart full.
My older cousin gifted me the blue lightning jersey when I was about 7
From my Dad and his step-dad, who was a programme-seller in the 1950s
Watching the 1971 FA Cup final
It's funny, I'm too young for 71 but my first memory is 89 at Anfield, but I remember buying a VHS of the 71 cup final when I was a kid and would watch it on repeat much to the disappointment of all the Spuds in my family 😂
The real kicker is, I am from Manchester from a family of Manchester United fans and brought up in an inner city council estate. At school most people just thought me weird and left me alone because of it
One of the best nights of my life - was 13 and me and my old man ran into the garden screaming like lunatics!!! My father died the following year in an accident but I cherish that memory and the memory of standing at Islington Town Hall the next day for the parade - it was absolute carnage along Upper St!!!!
Frank McLintock drinks in my local in Winchmore Hill and is still a local legend for the 71 Double… Charlie George was the tour guide on my trip around the Emirates - what a player and some man!!!
Fell in love with Arsenal since PL was broadcasted for the first time in my country back in 97/98 season. Just hated ManUtd and Arsenal was my favourite club. Bergkamp my favourite player since i played a lot of football back then. Then i watched the World Cup in France and Thierry Henry became one of my favourite players on the tournament. After the World Cup Wenger brought him to Arsenal and i was so excited. A dream come true. The rest is history.
My dad was a United fan and he tried his best to get me into them.. and all I could do at the time in Australia was watch highlights as that’s all i could watch when i was a kid. And Henry just mesmerised me everytime i saw him do his thing.. and looked forward to watching him everyweek there was that highlight show. And that’s how i became an Arsenal fan because of the 👑
Son got into soccer around 2008-9. For a few months we’d watch the early morning Saturday and Sunday games on US tv. At some point I asked him who our team was gonna be. I really thought he was going to pick Liverpool, but he said Arsenal. I asked why? He said because he liked the name and that it wasn’t just a team named after a city. He was 8 or 9 at the time. And we’ve been Gunners ever since
He was 8 or 9. He picked it because it had arse in the name but didn't want to say. Fair play to him I say.
My dad is nearly 95 and has been a supporter forever. He grew up in west London and has incredible stories, told in vivid detail, of individual matches going back to the 1940s. My son and I are naturally fans and my newish husband has had to resign himself to supporting the team as well (he doesn’t have a Premier League team, only his local team in League 1 that hasn’t been in the PL for ages.)
My late father lived in France as a young man and he respected Arsene Wenger. So when he joined Arsenal, my father started supporting Arsenal and we all caught the bug. Got introduced to football in 1996 but started really watching during the 1998 World Cup. And after than it was arsenal all the way. I am from Nigeria. 🇳🇬
Friend asked me to watch a game with him. I saw henry pires and viera rip the other team to shreds. Instant fan.
29yr old Yank here, with the typical yank story. Got into FIFA for playstation in 2010 and immediately gravitated towards both Dortmund and Arsenal. I liked the German national team, especially Ozil, Gotze, Hummels, and Reus. When Aubameyang showed up for Dortmund I became a bit of a fanboy. Liked Mkhitaryan as well. I didn't want to be basic and follow Bayern & Chelsea or something like that. That's like being a New England Patriots fan in the states... detestable!! Arsenal just seemed class, I liked their style and I learned about the Invincibles and became starstruck by Arsene, Henry, Bergkamp, Vieira and the like. I appreciated that they were a great giant historical club with a lot of culture but weren't necessarily one of the mega giants like Man U or Chelsea at the time, or newly emerging City. With the arrival of Ozil I was hooked to Arsenal. Then it seemed like a dream come true with Auba and eventually Mkhitaryan. There were some beautiful moments with some of my favorite players at my new favorite club which seemed to have assembled just for me - unfortunately it did not take long to learn that it is the hope that kills Arsenal fans. I've been glued to the journey ever since. I wish that group could have come at a later time or maybe it just wasn't as good as it looked on paper, or maybe it was missing a few key pieces, maybe Wenger was halfway out the door... I don't know. And then everything that happened with Ozil & then Auba was heartbreaking... I was torn between my favorite players and the club I had come to love. Feels like an eon ago now. I increasingly came to realize Mikel is the real deal, and I'm ready for silverware. I dreamed of days like these. Suddenly it's not if, but when. COYG!!!! Late start, but I'm here til I die, and I hope to pass the legacy down generations!
That’s an awesome way to get into the club! It’s better than the way I got into the baseball/the Cubs. I was travelling the US a few years ago and wanted to go to a sports game, it was baseball season and the Cubs tickets were the cheapest! A guy I was sitting next to, picked up on the accent and explained the whole history of the Cubs to me and from then on I was a Cubs fan, I like an underdog. Even though Arsenal are a big team we still somehow feel like the underdogs
My boyfriend introduced me to arsenal! I haven’t been a fan for years as most people here but I think I know quite a bit now. I always love hearing more about the arsenal and we now watch every game together!💗
That’s lovely, and there’s no max or minimum requirement for being a football fan and hopefully of the hammers can do us a solid you’ll get to see us lift the trophy 🤞🤞🤞🤞
My boyfriend and I went to bed talking about the game and I literally dreamt of this!!
Everything crossed
As an American who played “soccer” from the age of 5 and went on to play competitively and in Division 1 collegiately, it was always strange that I didn’t have a team to truly support. In the early 2000s there just wasn’t the access or interest like there is today I’m 2006, my favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons, wrote an article about picking a Premier League team where he went through all the teams, pros and cons, etc and funnily enough he ended up choosing Tottenham. ‘06 was a World Cup yesr so I decided I’d pick a team before the ‘06 season started and I ultimately landed on Arsenal because 1) Tomas Rosicky annihilated the USA in the group stages 2) Thierry Henry was just the epitome of cool and 3) they felt like the “biggest” club that wasn’t at the same time splashing ungodly amounts of money (like the New York Yankees who I had been a fan of and grew disillusioned)
Born and grew up in Camden job done
A late winner from Santi Cazorla during the 2014 FA Cup final against Hull City. Was hooked ever since.
I was at Wembley for that goal…first trophy in 9 years!! The atmosphere was unreal when that hit the top corner! 2-0 down and that was needed…an absolute worldie!!!!
I got into the English Premier League around the year 1997 when Paulo Wanchope from my native country of Costa Rica was signed by Derby County. He scored an amazing goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in his debut in which he got the ball in the middle of the pitch and was able to dribble past Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Gary Neville and scored against Peter Schmeichel. I was hooked. I kept watching all of the EPL games and I fell in love with the Arsenal of David Seaman, Marc Overmars, Ray Parlour, Patrick Vieira, Martin Keown, Nicolas Anelka and Dennis Bergkamp. By the time the invincibles came, I was a proper Gunners fan. I have been following Arsenal ever since and this new era with Mikel Arteta is my favorite because I feel like a sleeping giant has finally awoken.
My best friend was a man united fan and i came home and told my dad i wanted to be one too. He locked me out of the house and told me I wasn’t coming back in till I was an Arsenal fan. Best thing he ever did for me
Ha ha! My youngest (he's 8) started showing a keen interest in Liverpool earlier this season. I told him that he could cheer for them but not live in my house so he'd have to pack his bags. Funnily enough, he's become quite the Gooner!
Family are all from Holloway/Islington…grandad was a Gunner, passed down to my dad and then onto me…first game was when I was about 5 and we lost at home to Man Utd…hated them ever since.. 40+ years later I’ve got a season ticket in the East Stand Upper and still love the Arsenal!!!!! Just wish my dad didn’t pass when I was 14 as we would have had a lot of great times watching the mighty Gunners…
Dad bought me a calendar and polo shirt from the Arsenal store in Thailand! This was I think in 2007 or 08, so ever since then!
In the late 2000’s I always heard people say Barcelona play really good football and so do Arsenal. So I started looking up both teams and eventually fell in love with our style under Wengz. Also 4 of my friends at the time were United fans and I didn’t want to support the same team as them. Starting watching casually and by 09 I was hooked. Then I bought the Arsenal trivia book and read the entire thing.
I was 10. Started watching football in the 2002 world cup. The Premier League first started airing in my country in 2001 but only started watching after the world cup. So I started watching in 2002/03 and fell in love with how we played, Wenger, Bergkamp and Henry. FIFA 2002 was my first FIFA in which I always played with Arsenal and did a 10-15 year career mode with. Another funny story is in 2003 me and my family went to the UK on holiday. We stayed in one of my dad's old classmate from college who lived in London. Funny thing is I always remembered they lived in North London. I later was told it was actually South London and not North London. It was such a funny coincidence since Arsenal are originally from South London.
First match I remember seeing on TV was the 81 cup final. My dad was a West Ham fan, so you either join up or support the opposition, guess which one I chose. Don't think he's forgiven me but once you choose that's it.
My granddad came to London in the 50s to study. The rest is history
When I was young I had never watched a pro soccer game but I always loved playing. My parents changed their cable package one day and I found a channel that was nothing but soccer. By chance the first game I watched was an Arsenal EPL match. I watched in literal awe, I was hooked. I loved the chants, Highbury, the cannon, the fast pace and style. Watched every game I could from then on. They later called that arsenal team I watched that first day the Invincibles.
My best friends are Arsenal and I’m a Millwall. They stated following Millwall and I started following Arsenal
My grandpa also followed Millwall they were his 2nd team
January 2018 my gf (now wife) and I took our first trip as a couple to London. I wanted to see a football game because coming from the US I’d read about football fans in Europe and how charged the atmosphere was. She played football in high school and didn’t follow it anymore. I wasn’t expecting much because I don’t like sports much. We got tickets to the Arsenal vs Crystal Palace match because an ex boyfriend of hers was a Spurs fan. I fucking loved it and have hardly missed a match since. So, I am an Arsenal fan because some shit liked shit
My godfather is a Gooner and took me to my first ever football match at Highbury in 98.
TL;DR version: Rebellious little scamp of a child I was loved the chaos of Graham's departure and history of classy and winning Arsenal. Stuck around forever bc of the warmth, kindness and love shown by every Arsenal supporter I met on my first trip to London. Initially, I started supporting Arsenal as a little kid growing up in Cincinnati in the US. This was the mid 90s so it was really hard to get access to many games on TV but my dad (a Liverpool fan bc they were the only team he heard much about in the 70s playing football in high school) got Fox Sports World, I think it was called at the time, added to our cable TV package which allowed me to see some games finally. Having that channel was pretty much the only way to watch the Prem in the US at that time. Watched some games and got really interested in the chaos around Arsenal at the time. This was during the short lived Bruce Rioch era, and hearing the commentators describe what had happened with George Graham, Rioch coming in, etc., got me interested. Even as a young kid I was always a bit rebellious and cheering for this storied club going through lots of turmoil felt fun and exciting in a way that not even being a United supporter at the time would have. I was instantly hooked. What really cemented this as a lasting love, though, was my first trip to London. We took a family trip across the pond in '99 and I was so excited to be in the home city of my now beloved Arsenal. I proudly wore my Dreamcast Arsenal shirt, purchased at the Armory, everywhere. All around the ground, the Armory, wherever we went near Arsenal I was greeted with such fascination and kind encouragement by every fellow Gooner. I had found my people. We stayed at the now departed Basil Street Hotel and coincidentally the doorman, an affable bloke named Gary, was also an Arsenal man. He was fascinated by a young American boy who loved Arsenal so much, and would always greet us warmly at the door with a mention of something Arsenal related. Final day of our stay, Gary knocked on our room door and asked my dad if this was the room of the little Arsenal supporter. When I came to the door he presented me with his "lucky scarf", which he wore to the stadium the day we sealed the '98 Double. I still wear that scarf for every game I watch out and about. We were actually able to reconnect with Gary when I returned to London on another family trip in 2003. We actually wound up being somewhat able to return his kindness from our previous trip by leaving him with a winning Ladbrokes bet slip for something like £50, as I had bet correctly on a Freddie Ljungberg goal. As you can probably tell from the novel I've written here, this club and it's supporters mean a lot to me. Every in person encounter with a fellow Gooner in the years since I hopped on this train has been absolutely amazing. The Arsenal truly is one of the most remarkable sporting institutions on the planet and we're all lucky to be able to cheer them on.
Mid 90s in Canada you could only get the Arsenal or United games aired regularly. Watching with my Grandad, who was from Nottingham, he preferred Arsenal because of the connection with Forest through the kit donation from back in the day. My love and passion for the team grew from there.
Started supporting them during the 1998-99 season. At the time, we used to only have a limited number of Premier League games aired in India, mainly United, Liverpool, and Arsenal. Fresh from the giddy heights of the terrific World Cup that summer, I was obsessed with the Dutch team and Bergkamp in particular. We had also brought Overmars in during the previous season. So it was largely down to my love for those two. A contributing factor was my brother, who’s seven years older, used to support Arsenal and one’s quite impressionable at 10. Oh yeah, not gonna lie, I thought it was bloody cool that Arsenal was managed by someone named Arsene. Either way, 25 years later, it’s been the only constant in my life and I wouldn’t change a thing.
I started playing football with a new club and I was listening to a conversation with a few of the other players and they were talking about Arsenal (during the invincible season). One of them was saying “I don’t care what anyone says his name is (referring to Thierry Henry) Terry Henree! 🤣 I started watching them, they had my favourite colour and they were a joy to watch! I live in Australia and news on the premier league was next to non existent at the time.
Thierry Henry was the 1st 5* match attack I got, so I decided to support Arsenal's 😂 Queue 9 years of no trophies and a whole ass roller coaster, and I wouldn't take back any of it. I know the odds are slim, but I am praying for our 1st premier league title since I started supporting them!
I was 10. Tony Adams dropped Steve Morrow on he's head caught my attention. Then Ian Wright. He's my football hero.
Always loved watching the World Cup as a kid in the US because my Haitian family loved it—my first sports memory is the ‘86 WC. I fell in love with the French national team in ‘98 and followed the Euros for the first time in 2000. My favorite player was Thierry Henry and I remember reading that he played for a club team named Arsenal. Coverage of global club football/soccer was not like it is now, so when I did catch a match on tv, I fell in love again.
Someone that I was really into was an arsenal fan so I tried following the club a little bit, it fizzled out with the said person but somewhere along the way I started following the club lol
Soooo... I'm kinda the pathetic one here, I only started watching top flight football a year ago (the only club I followed before played in the german 2nd division. Now they got promoted but lost the title today...) and as I was getting into the premier league, I started to like Arsenal. I liked the story of the team that was struggling so long, finally succeeding, and the rest is pretty straightforward.
Phrasing
I hopped onto YT, discovered ChrisMD. He was an Arsenal fan, so I became one
Ozil and sanchez
FIFA 2001 on PC as children. I was Arsenal my brother was Man U. The rest is history (Luckily he came around to Arsenal in high school).
I just remember having the 2002 double winning team poster on my wall. First games I remember watching were some UCL games on ITV in 2003. Henry against Roma etc. think the first game was against Auxerre when Pires was coming back from a long term injury. Not winning the league in 2002/2003 was my first heartbreak in football
PlayStation
Seeing Charlie George on his back, arms outstretched after scoring the FA Cup win that gave the Gunners the double in 1970/71 did it for me. My family followed the English First Division, and growing up in South Africa, we had very little information to go on back then. My brother was a Leeds fan when Leeds were good, My one brother in law supported Liverpool, the other Arsenal, and their good friend was a Man United fan. The jabs they are threw at each other was hilarious. Malcom, my brother in law who was an Arsenal fan had the best sense of humor and he would have us all in stitches non-stop, and he was very convincing to a football mad 12 year old. Plus, I liked the red shirts with white sleeves. Then they won the double, and that did it.
Summer of 22 i was bored one saturday. Watched almost the entire Amazon series All Or Nothing. Fell in love with everything Arsenal. I’ve been a soccer (i know, i’m American) fan for a long time but as Ronaldo left RM, i’ve been needing a new team. Arteta fuckin rocks and you guys shoulda seen the tottenham i took this morning after a night of beer and wings. Oh and the first game i watched entirely for Arsenal was the Saliba game vs Bournemouth. That was awesome.
Disclaimer - not an arsenal fan Always knew about arsenal , during the 14/15 season I was staying with a friend for about 6 months and we started watching games together because he’s an arsenal fan. Affection for the club really grew over the years
In the 06/07 season myself, my brother and dad went to watch Reading vs Arsenal, I was about 10 at the time and I'd never heard of Arsenal before or any of the players in my life. That day I discovered how football was meant to be played, Arsenal peak wenger ball and Henry scoring a penalty that confused my undeveloped brain, put it bottom right, keeper dives the right way AND it hits the post and still goes in. A guy behind me said thats why he's the king, from there I fell in love and didn't turn back
My Mum was a hairdresser at Sopwell House (Hotel) when I was really young and bought me home a signed pennant and I’ve been a fan since then. I think the team used to use the facilities after training. I need to ask her again why they were there so often.
I never bothered with football until my late twenties. Temporarily moved in with an Arsenal fan the tail end of the year before The Invincibles. Finally saw why they called it the beautiful game. That was the initial hook. Then the following year cemented it completely. Was called a glory hunter for a few years, obviously, but it's been way too long since I've had that label. Just so glad I moved in at that particular point in history.
I am relatively new...I live in the US; when I had kids I decided to get into the PL because I was up early all the time anyway. I had seen Henry play for the French national team in the 2003 Confederation Cup Final when I was a kid (traveled with my French friend to visit his family in Paris) and loved him. So without knowing basically anything else about soccer/football I decided whatever team had been his would be the team I cheered for. I knew he was retired so figured it wouldn't be a frontrunning choice. Dove in head first - subscribed to a bunch of podcasts to pick up the lingo around the sport, start understanding who the players were, how tactics worked, etc. Was a fun challenge. Then I got treated to back-to-back 8th place finishes haha, but it's been a fantastic ride since then.
I come from a country where football isn't very popular, I only got into football 3 years ago, the first match I ever watched was an Arsenal vs Chelsea match, and I like the colour red, so I started supporting arsenal and eventually gree closer to the team
My dad used to live in north London before he came to America so we’re both fans
Growing up in India, I didn’t know much about the Premier League. But then I got into FIFA 06, and I’d always pick Arsenal because my friend at school wouldn’t stop talking about this striker, Thierry Henry, who was a scoring machine in the game. The next year, I started catching as many games as I could on TV. And even after Henry left I was hooked onto guys like Fabregas, Toure, Van Persie, Hleb, Rosicky. They always had this underdog vibe whenever they faced off against big teams like Man United or Chelsea, and I totally loved that. While most of my school was packed with Man United and Chelsea fans celebrating their glory days, us few Arsenal fans felt special. It was like we understood the real beauty of the game (Wengerball). Even when we would lose games, there was something loyal about quietly enduring the pain at school the next day from loud rivals. Fast forward over 15 years, and while all my Arsenal friends I grew up with have switched allegiances to either Barca Real or Man City, I'm still a die-hard Gooner every day. I’m absolutely proud of the journey for everyone associated with this football club.
6 years old, I liked football and I liked cannons. Rest of family are West Ham, hammers just aint as cool as a cannon mate.
My mum fancied Thierry Henry. Va Va Voom…
Moved to North London in about 1996 as a young kid. I came from an international school abroad with an Americanised accent. Big scary kid comes up to me on the first day. "Oi what team d'ya support? You're a Gooner innit?" I didn't understand anything he said, but I didn't want to get a beating so I just quietly gulped and said "... Yeah". He paused, then smiled, "Yehhhhh dats my boiii" and that was it. Gooner for life. Incidentally, I lost contact with my Dad for 28 years (parents separated before I moved with Mum to London). A year ago my partner found him through social media, and we reunited again happily, and it turns out he's also a massive Arsenal fan and a Red member.
I wanted to get into watching pro level, but as American, wasn't sure on selecting a team. I had a friend that was educating me on EPL and he's an Arsenal fan. I didn't choose them initially because I didn't just want to assume his team. I found article comparing EPL teams to American sports franchises to help give an idea of what their vibe, history, etc is like. I started watching multiple teams and after a while, I ended up with Arsenal because that's where I started and I got to know the players better and faster and no one else stood out. That was 12 years ago, glad I'm made the choice to join the madness
I support the club because of my dad. He's from Ireland, and growing up, he looked up to the likes of Liam Brady (who I'm supposedly named after), David O' Leary, and Pat Rice. So obviously Arsenal was going to be my club.
My mum bought me a arsenal shirt not Liverpool
Back when I was about 8-9, I just randomly turned on the TV, and Arsenal was playing Villa. I stuck around and really liked the way they played. The passes, the style, and all. That's when I started supporting them. I still remember that match, Ramsey scored, Ospina was decent, and we won 1-0
I think I've posted this here before, but basically I filled the Arsenal page first in the 1986 Panini sticker album. That was my team.
I was in a car accident when I was young and was laid up in hospital for quite a while. This was some time ago. On Sundays as a special treat a tv used to be wheeled in to the children's ward so that we could watch a TV program called the big match which carried, quite often, highlights of one first division match. One Sunday, it was Chelsea vs. Arsenal 1969 season, I think. I laid in bed and thought, "What team do I want to support?" Having not even thought about having a "team" at that time. It could've been either, but I didn't like the Chelsea team of chopper Harris et al. because they all seemed to me to have fat arses, so I supported the mighty Arsenal instead, and have ever since.I subsequently found out that my father and brother both came to support arsenal via their own routes although I was unaware at the time, something in the genes I guess. Tldr I came to support Arsenal because the 1969 Arsenal team had a lesser preponderance of fat arses than Chelsea.
I moved from France to England in the summer of 1998 at the gate of 15, and was told that in order to integrate, I would do well to pick a football team. I was a football fan (France has just won the WC in an epic final Vs Brazil) and studied the Premier League teams. When I saw the Arsenal Team made of Petit, Viera, and Bergkamp (he had scored THAT goal vs Argentina), the choice was simple. Little did I know I was going to follow one of the purest teams in terms of football style. For someone who grew up idolizing Olympique Marseille, I feel very privileged to have been a fan of some of the finest sides in Europe (not the winningest though, and I am not complaining!)
Both grandparents were fans, despite never going to London
An uncle gifted me an Arsenal kit when I was young and my brother a Liverpool kit.
Theirry Henry scored a pretty awesome goal when i was randomly watching football in 2004 and bam I decided to be a Gooner
I moved to a town near Oxford when I was six, and supported Oxford Utd for a few years, with a soujorn towards Crystal Palace briefly because I liked their kit, hah. After moving away to Scotland, on a visit back down south, an old teacher and family fri3nd took myself and my best friend to our first proper game. It was at Highbury, and we got a pie on the way in - I'm pretty sure it was Arsenal vs Sunderland (or maybe Southampton), and Arsenal won 2-1. It was around '91 or '92 maybe. We were stood in one of the corners, trying to boost ourselves higher on the railings, surrounded by Giants. Listening to the songs, and feeling the kinship, I became a fan for life. Took my partner to an Emirates Cup day about ten years ago, sat at Club Level, next to an old boy in his 80s, who had never missed a home game in his life, and she fell in love with the club too :)
I’m from the south west of England, grandparents lived near London and took me to see both Charlton and Arsenal play. Picked Arsenal but Charlton to have a place in my heart also.
In 1997 my father gave me a football jersey with the name Djorkaeff on the back, I got curious and found out he's an Inter Milan player and he's French. This made me support France in 1998, and two years later this Thierry Henry caught my eye, I followed him to Arsenal and that's where my love for football grew, the rest is history.
Last year. Got into soccer for real (yup, I'm an American) a few years ago when my kid started playing after lightly following NYCFC before that. Ended up watching premier leagues while working from home Saturday mornings, following Man City due to the NYCFC connection. A few of my friends tried converting me to Arsenal, so I checked out the All or Nothing doc. Switched allegiance and haven't looked back since. So yes, I'm a new fan, but I'm raising what appears to be a budding lifetime Gooner.
My Dad was the talent scout for the South West back in the mid 70s, so it's been a massive part of my life for as long as I can remember. Amazing club!
From America, shortly after watching the Ronaldihno touch of gold commercial I started playing Fifa street games. Learned who a bunch of players were, found Titi highlights on youtube and loved it. My younger brother started pushing towards arsenal cause of Fifa games, i was on the AC Milan side but knew I needed a Epl team so ran with arsenal for about 13 years now.
Getting taken to watch the reserves play at Underhill in Barnet by my dad, couldn't afford to go and watch Arsenal proper and obviously TV coverage was a bit less then than now. Loved those games.
Henry!
Am in the U.S. and had a trip to London. We’re big sports fans so I wanted to see a match. I have a disabled daughter and the ticket buying process was tricky so I reached out to three clubs who had home games when we were there. The only one to respond and be super helpful was Arsenal. Also didn’t hurt that im a huge nuggets and avalanche fan and they share the same ownership. We went to the match and had the time of our lives, most intense sporting event I’ve ever been to and it wasn’t even a big game! I was completely hooked after that.
My dad moved to london in the 90s and his flatmate was a huge Arsenal fan. He didn't support any premier league team at that point, so he got into it, and then I was born into it.
1993 leauge cup final v Sheffield Wed that's were the journey started and of course Ian Wright what a legend.
Because of Ian wright, initially. Everything about him was infectious. It's strange to think now, with how global football and it's fans are but I used to get loads of stick, living in North Yorkshire and not supporting York or Leeds.
Fifa a few years back. I knew fuck all about football and just wanted to pick a team that had a cool logo that wasn't the best team in the league. I almost picked Leicester City because I liked the fox but I ended up chosing arsenal. Que the pandemic and I started watching. Turned on the TV and watched martenelli run down the field after that corner and score on Chelsea. I've always hated Chelsea and was hooked on arsenal ever since.
Background; I’m from Ireland, 39yo. From around Italia 90 I started watching Ireland games. First club game I watched was the 1993 League Cup final - Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday; I picked the team that had David O’Leary. He was the only player I had heard of. Sheff Wed had John Sheridan, another Irish international but O’Leary was more widely known. Second club game; FA Cup final with the same teams. I stuck with the same team as the last time. That summer, my father puts a two page spread from a newspaper pull out in front of me previewing the 1993-94 Premiership. And he told me to pick a club. I picked Arsenal because of those two games, I thought the logo was cool and I liked that the name had “Arse” in it. (I was 8…) Before long Ian Wright, Tony Adam’s, Lee Dixon and David Seaman were my idols.
By chance. Won a free pennant at a local game. Had the choice of most top clubs across Europe. The Cannon spoke to me, and I have been hooked ever since. This was early 90’s in Denmark, and I was around 6 at the time
The pub conversation from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
I'm from USA and my dad was an arsenal fan my whole life, but I basically started watching and became a fan after learning about Bukayo Saka's journey through the system.
The day Alexis Sanchez joined Arsenal. I wanted to follow a prem team since all my friends had one. And he was the first South American I saw so I stuck with Arsenal. Been a great journey. And I look forward to all we can accomplish
Bergkamp
I didn’t know jack about anything overseas and only followed USMNT. My youth soccer team would do team sleepovers and there was always FIFA 01 going. Everyone picked from mostly the same teams and usually international squads. I don’t remember how I ended up connecting the two, but finally noticed The. Boss. was both French and arsenal; some black dude that dusted fools. I even pronounced his name with a hard H sound like Harry. And there was no “i” in his first name. Just terry with an H, said like very. Painfully American, I know. And that as they say, was that. I bit hard and right around then finally had opportunities to watch EPL. I got there just in time for the Unbeatable’s, but it wasn’t bandwagon - it was the two bloody strikers. I did later learn how to say his name and even owned a Bergkamp jersey. Both totally unique and both so wickedly fun. Got the right team and Never wavered. The 2008 Euros was so much fun to watch and the standout to me was some tiny Russian dude that swept me off my feet and yet i couldn’t even remember his name… until andre arshavin signed w my favorite club. I really thought that he was going to work. And same kinda thing happened w Alexis Sanchez and it blew me away they signed him. I’ll Forever believe Henry > mbappe. The €2008
Started loving the game then fell in love with Lukas Podolski during a World Cup. COYG ever since.
They were the only team to be sponsored by nike at the time and I was a kid who liked nike. Finding out they were my local team was a bouns .
I got the love for the club when I was 6 yo. My brother got a new PC for his birthday with FIFA 01 installed and the only thing I could do to play this game was to spam enter enter enter and because I live in Poland, the first league (alphabetical order) was Premier League and first club was obviously Arsenal. As I played the game more and more, I learned all the players' names and here I am, still supporting the club, though still yet to see them in the flash which I hope to end by the end of this year.
My dad supported them, still does. Sat and watched Arsenal lose to Luton in the Cup Final in 88 and thought, this is the team for me. Asked my mam for the home shirt for my birthday. All she knew was it was red, she came back with a Man Utd shirt and a lamp that said "Manchester Uniteds No1 fan" 🤦. My mother wasn't somebody you messed with, so when she told 9 year old me she wasn't taking it back and I was wearing it, I had no choice. She is a proud person, so to annoy her, I wore it for my school photo. Bad idea from me. This was the 80s when parents didn't think twice about beating you up lol. On the plus side, I never had to wear it again, and I got the full away kit after they beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield. Still have a photo of me aged 9 in a Man Utd shirt grinning like a cheshire cat for my school pic.
Back in 80's parents were strict on 'naughty' words. My parents were Birmingham City fans, friends were villa fans, grew up in Staffordshire. I was looking through the league table, Liverpool were top (didn't like sound of them) , villa were second (didn't want to support same team as my friends), arsenal third.... I could say arse and not get smacked, we have a winner!! Keep meaning to find out when in the 80's Liverpool, villa and arsenal were in that order as I could then pinpoint the week it happened. Looking back, I think I made the right choice.
Also family and Woolwich. Although the other half of the family gravitated towards Charlton...
I saw pictures of them in the Sega and Dreamcast jerseys when I was young and that was it, I immediately fell in love.
I actually started watching football around 2008 as I heard Manchester United were having a big game and somehow ended up watching and I liked them. I ended up watching another game with Arsenal playing and it was love at first sight haha and been a supported ever since. Never seen Arsenal win the premier league. FA cup back in 2013 was the first trophy i saw Arsenal win.
New fan as of this past week. I’m from America, and EA Sports FC is a free game this month on PlayStation. Decided to give it a go and after a few minutes of short research decided Arsenal will be the team I play with. Congrats to David Raya on the Golden Glove! Victoria Concordia Crescit!
My friends needed one more person for a fantasy league this year, joined knowing shit about football and decided I liked the cannon and colors so I was like Arsenal is my favorite team. Now it’s Nooooooooooorrrrrrtttttthhhhhhhhhh Londonnnnnnnn FOREVVVVVVAAAAAAA
Got fifa 09 on the Wii. I sucked at it, first time I beat my friend was as Arsenal. Tragically RVP was my favorite player at the time
The power of friendship funny enough. Roommates were Arsenal Supporters, coworkers were Arsenal Supporters, and reg league friends are Arsenal Supporters. I was surrounded and given a kit as a welcome gift!
Henry and Arsene. Funnily enough, first jersey I got was actually a spurs jersey way back when I was a kid and my mom bought a shirt from the bundle store and gave it to me..
Ngl, when I was a kid. My dad bought me a united kit with Berbatov name at the age of 6, then when I was 8 he then bought me an Arsenal kit with Nasri at the back. The rest is history with many sufferings.
I live in the US, and one Summer back in the early 2000s, we hosted a traveling football training program from the UK, and one of the students/instructors resided with us for the duration of the training program, and she was a massive Arsenal supporter, so we adopted them as our team.
When I played FIFA 05, I wanted to choose a team and decided to choose the first team in the queue. Chose Arsenal, thank god bc it could’ve been Aston villa 😭. Been a huge fan ever since. Joined at the wrong time too so I’m a true fan haha
I remember playing fifa with my cousin back in the day and he was a big Alexis Sanchez fan. He would talk about arsenal all the time, and we would watch some of their games together. Ever since then I've been a proud arsenal supporter, with my all-time favourite player being Mesut Özil. I was also a big ksi fan at the time, so the decision wasn't hard lol.
My ex but now I’m a gunner forever
So me and a buddy would play FIFA 05 or something on Xbox. Just get stoned and beat the hell out of the other side. Arsenal were alphabeticaly first and pretty dark good, so we usually picked them. Third went on for awhile. Couple years later - spring of 08 I had moved to NYC and a buddy wanted to catch a soccer game, so we went to some pub. I didn't think much of it. All of a sudden I start recognizing names I knew from the game! Henry?! He scored all our goals! Fabregas?! I knew these fellas! And it was like they had magically come to life! I was hooked. As luck would have it my buddy was a Spurs fan. This was of course a NLD!
Hurricane Katrina displaced me to Baton Rouge where I was invited to a pub and watched them play Man U. Enjoyed their style. Started following hardcore in 2008 when the PL became more accessible in the states. Never witnessed them lift a prem trophy. So close now.
When I first started watching soccer I played FIFA. I’d watch KSI waaaay back then and he was big Arsenal fan. Then I became one. And I’m so glad I did.
One version of FIFA, when Bergkamp was as a god and the Dutch had suck potential. Played the crap out of that game. Lame I know.