Written by George Saturday, 13 August 2011 12:41

GunnerTalk Blog

By John Friend (@mrjohnfriend)

I’ve just got home from walking the dogs. Two border collies – Molly and Jess. Before I took them I got changed and just happened to throw on last years home shirt, the purchase of the new one relegating the old one to ‘run of the mill’ apparel and no longer reserved for special occassions. As I watched two mad black and white things run around like Loony Toons to get hold of a ball that was routinely delivered back to the feet of someone in that shirt, my mind shifted to the first game of the season. Then quickly to the 2 games at St James Park last season. The events outlined above perfectly summed up the first 135 minutes of those 2 games. When we got home one of the dogs jumped up in excitement promptly smashing both front paws into the part of a chaps anatomy least welcoming of such attention – and there we had the last 45 minutes of those 2 games ie something that felt like THE most almighty kick in the balls.

I was lucky enough to be in Newcastle on business for the League Cup game and managed to wangle myself a ticket in the otherwise sold out away end (even though we were/are all disillusioned and a club in crisis we could STILL sell out our allocation for what was, to all intents and purposes a mid week reserve game (sorry Theo)). I rarely get to go to away games these days but that match bought it rushing back to me how much I loved going away in the days when I rarely missed one. The camerarderie in a far off town, the humour and relentlessness singing of the travelling Gooners and, of course, whipping the home teams ass on their own patch. With hindsight, I wish we’d lost that night. If that had been the case there would have been no disgrace, we would have been nowehere near Wembley on the day of the final and one of the sharpest nails to be driven into our coffin wouldn’t even have come out of the tool box. As for the league game up there, well the least said about that the better….

The point of this piece isn’t really to predict what will happen on Saturday. To be honest, with everything that’s gone on (or should that be everything that HASN’T gone on) I don’t have a clue. The heart says win – the head says ???????? Instead let me jog your memories of some amusing / magnificent Arsenal/ Newcastle memories.

First one is personal – when I was a very very young boy I supported Newcastle. I loved Malcolm MacDonald (not in THAT way….) and when he went to Arsenal in 1976 an 8 year old me went with him (the first live match I ever saw was the 1976 League Cup Final when they lost to the Arsenal Retirement Home as they are now known). From that moment the dye for the rest of my football supporting life was cast.

A game at Highbury in the mid eighties – a young Paul Gascoigne playing for Newcastle. From our place right next to the away fans in the Clock End we saw a fat Geordie fan climb the wall, run over to the warming up Newcastle players, shake Gazza by the hand and promptly get slung out by the Old Bill. Funny in itself, but made even funnier when 5 minutes later the same fan re-appeared and the process repeated itself step by step.

April 15 1989 – playing at Highbury,a tense game as we were locked in a chase for our first League title since 1971 and Newcastle were cut adrift at the bottom and heading for Division 2.Half time 0-0 – went to the gents and asked a guy with a radio the score of the semi final between Liverpool and Forest : “called off mate, Scousers fighting again” came the, what tragically transpired to be, massively inaccurate response. We scored what turned out to be the only goal of the game. Cue pandemonium. No one was going more mad than my mate Steve ‘Beef’ Bergin who was grabbed by a policeman and told to “calm down – someone has died at a football ground today and we don’t need anymore”. A dreadful, dreadful day..

I’m bored of typing now so for the last 2 I will just give you this link and this one. Words aren’t really necessary anyway. You can thank me later…

Enjoy the season Gooners!! It’s gonna be a rollercoaster 

UPDATE:  It appears that our current number 4 and number 8 are on the verge of moving on to pastures new. Before the “we’re all doomed” mentality kicks in remember – we lost Overmars and Petit at the same time – we got over them pretty well and we will do with the other 2 today. Coz we are the Arsenal and we are the best…….