An Arsenal day to remember

Yes, the headline says it all… there is much optimism surrounding the match of the decade for all Arsenal supporters today.

It is the day of the FA Cup Final and Arsenal are playing Hull City at Wembley Stadium, with the kick-off set for 5pm (midnight, Malaysian time).

All around the world, Gooners will be dancing in the street – but especially in Islington, North London – should The Arsenal live up to their favourites tag and finally win a major trophy after an 8-season drought.

Fan parties are gathering steam as the hours count down and Malaysia is no exception with two main events organised by the local official supporters club, Arsenal Malaysia.

Not for the first time, Arsenal Malaysia are organising a Live Football Cinema Experience event. The last one was in November 2012, when Arsenal defeated bitter rivals Spurs 5-2 at Emirates Stadium.

The FA Cup Final is assured to be as enjoyable, and more importantly, as successful an event with 300 Malaysian Gooners, including some VIP and celebrity guests, joining forces to cheer their beloved team at MBO Cinemas at Citta Mall, in Ara Damansara.

The Cinema Experience is certainly one to relish as it is the closest feeling to being at the stadium itself, watching the match in high definition on a digital screen that is larger than any projector can emulate.

But there are certainly many more who are part of the Malaysian Arsenal family, since the cinema can fit only 300. So, all Arsenal supporters are invited to be at Herris Restaurant in Damansara Perdana.

Both events start at 9.30pm, with lucky draws to win official merchandise, video screenings and a special launch of the Arsenal Corner at Herris, as part of the pre-match excitement. More information is available on the Arsenal Malaysia page on Facebook.

As for me, I am living it up as an Arsenal supporter of more than 35 years.

Arriving in London early this month to watch everything Arsenal, I was at the final home match of the season against West Bromwich Albion on May 4, the last away match at Norwich City on May 11 and the global Arsenal supporters club gathering for a special tournament at Emirates Stadium on May 10.

Both the home and away matches were first-time experiences for me. Well, I had been to Highbury to watch matches before but never to the Emirates for a match. And the away match was the first competitive one I had been to. The Gunners have obviously played “away” in Malaysia before.

What more could a Gooner want? Well, a ticket for the FA Cup Final at Wembley and a chance to bask in the glory of Arsenal winning a trophy again.

My prayers were answered but of course at a fairly higher price than one might expect to pay, even for a Cup Final.

With ticket allocations for Arsenal supporters being limited to only 25,000 by the English Football Association – Hull City got 25,000 too, while the FA’s corporate “friends” received 40,000… yeah, go figure – the prices skyrocketed as soon as they were allocated to some season ticket holders.

I will be in Wembley but I feel for so many thousands more who deserve to be there too, but cannot make it for whatever reason.

There is a silver lining for three Gooners though, thanks to Piers Morgan. Yes, the sometimes irritating British newsman who admits to being sacked by CNN not too long ago.

He had three tickets from the Arsenal allocation to the Platinum and Gold members. But he later got his usual box seats at Wembley as well. As a result, he decided to give away his tickets to three deserving Gooners.

The first one went to the Gooner featured in this column two months ago, the Gooner on the Road Peter Anderson, and the other two were given to a 12-year-old boy suffering from cancer and his dad.

Piers Morgan has a heart, and as told to me by Anderson, “he is quite a nice bloke, and also agreed to top up the shortfall in my cancer fund-raising effort”. Well, Morgan is a long-time Gooner after all.

So, it all comes down to this.

Whether you are watching it at the cinema, a restaurant, a mamak joint, or as I am blessed to be doing, at the famous Wembley Stadium, my message to Arsenal fans is “Keep Calm and Support The Gunners" – our time has come again. – May 17, 2014.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insider.