You might wonder why I want to start writing about Arsenal? Maybe because “we’re by far the greatest team, the world has ever seen!”

I’m an Arsenal nut; much of my spare time is taken up by watching Arsenal, engrossing myself in all things Arsenal and patiently waiting for the next game. So why not add to the plethora of online content with the ramblings of another (I like to think of myself as moderate) Gooner? I don’t know what to expect from this venture, but let’s see; if you’ve managed to find this post and are reading, I’ll take that as a win.

Publishing my first post during the international break is perhaps not the best of timings; I can’t delve into the latest result, the latest controversial refereeing decision or even the latest training video out-takes. However, it is a nice opportunity to start with a little background about why I support Arsenal.

Let’s go back to that fateful day — 15 April 1999. I was a lad of eight. I knew enough about football to love playing in the playground, but I didn’t yet support a team. Why did that change on 15 April 1999? Because it was one day after we lost to Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final replay at Villa Park (famous for a certain Ryan Giggs goal and celebration in extra-time…) Being in primary school, I wasn’t allowed to stay up late but my Dad (a Liverpool fan — more of that in future posts) recorded the highlights and the next day I eagerly put the VHS into the player to watch . Little did I know, this day would change the rest of my life. I started watching the video and couldn’t have cared less about who was playing, let alone who would win; I just wanted to watch some football. At this point, I must confess that my memories of watching the highlights of that game as an eight year old are hazy at best. Wikipedia has told me the day of the game and the fact that David Beckham scored a first half goal to give United the lead before Dennis Bergkamp scored an equaliser in the second half. However, what is clearly etched into my memory forever is an Arsenal player going down in the last minute of the game. Penalty! I remember Bergkamp standing over the ball, ready to send Arsenal to the final. But you all know what happens next — Berkgamp tries to place the ball to his right, only for Schmiechel to dive and save it. What stuck in my impressionable mind was not Schmeichel’s roar as he got up, or the other United players going to embrace their goalkeeper. Instead, it was the look on Bergkamp’s face after he missed. I was heartbroken for the man and decided that from that day, I would support him and his team (lucky me that he retired at Arsenal).

I do think what would have happened if it was the other way around and if a Manchester United player missed a late game winning penalty? Would I be a United fan? If there was no last minute drama, would I have followed in my Dad’s footsteps and become a Liverpool fan? Who knows, but the thought still keeps me up at night sometimes — so thanks for missing that penalty Dennis!