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Friday, March 28, 2014

Holy Crap...Arsenal Are Coming to the NYC Area

It's about time!

The news came today that Arsenal would be playing their first match in the United State for 25 years, this summer versus Thierry Henry and the New York Red Bulls. I cannot express how thrilled and excited I am to see Arsenal here in my home town. While I was alive 25 years ago, Arsenal were definitely not on my radar at that time so this is a MAJOR first for me as a New Yorker.

A legend in bronze

I have seen Thierry Henry play for Arsenal (I was lucky enough to witness 2 of his 8 Arsenal hat tricks live!) and I have seen Thierry Henry play for the Red Bulls. For me, and many other Arsenal fans, Henry is Arsenal!! In fact, when Henry first came to the Red Bulls, Kurtis Powers and Arsenal NYC worked with the club to organize an exclusive post-game Q&A session with Thierry Henry following a Red Bulls match. It was an amazing experience as it was an opportunity for Arsenal fans based in the NYC area to show our appreciation and respect for Henry while welcoming him to New York. Henry was visibly touched and for those of us who were there it was a truly unique experience.

From Arsenal captain to Red Bulls captain, Thierry Henry the legend

Being a fan of Arsenal, I have had the opportunity to see the club play live on many occasions in the UK. At the same time, I have seen Liverpool, Manchester United, Chelsea & god forbid, even Tottenham, come to NYC during the EPL pre-season. To be honest, I was wondering when the hell is the club that I care about coming over here. I understand it's a big world, but I don't want to see Manchester United or Spuds, I want to see my club, Arsenal, on US soil in my lifetime. I was beginning to wonder if and when it would happen. Therefore, the combination of Arsenal playing the NY Red Bulls, captained by former Arsenal captain Thierry Henry, is the equivalent of celebrating Christmas and your birthday all on the same day! Or, it's like seeing the New York Jets and the New York Mets win championships in the same year...in other words it is SPECIAL.

Reunited and it feels so good!

No offense to Vietnam and Indonesia, but it's about time that Arsenal visited our part of the world as New York Gooners are passionate and dedicated. So here's to the summer of 2014...or as it will now be called...the summer of Arsenal in NYC!