1

Volume 3, Issue 3 Welcome to the 2003/4 Premier League Season 22nd August, 2003

NEXT MATCHES

Middlesbrough v ARSENAL TVTV

11.05am, Sun Aug 24th, 2003

Riverside, Middlesbrough

ARSENAL v Aston Villa TVTV

2.45pm, Wed Aug 27th, 2003

Highbury, London

Man. City v ARSENAL

11.05am, Sun Sep 15th, 2003

City Ground, Manchester

wwwwwwwwwwww....nnnnyyyyggggoooooooonnnneeeerrrrssss....ccccoooommmm

News in Brief FA denies bias against The Gunners!

In an interview for London’s Evening Standard, Patrick

Vieira accused The Football Association of bias against the

Gunners following the Video Panel’s decision to investigate

Sol Campbell’s kick on Djemba-Djemba in the FA

Community Shield.

The FA were quick to respond to this accusation with a

strongly worded denial that refuted Paddy’s charges…

well, they would, wouldn’t they…

Pennant is loaned to Leeds

Jermaine Pennant has started his loan period with Leeds

United and will play for them for the next two months.

Pennant, who has had trouble breaking into the Senior XI,

will now receive plenty of first team Premiership football –

something he could not be guaranteed by sitting on the

Arsenal bench.

For those who may be confused and are wondering how

this is possible, the simple answer is that the Premier

League relaxed restrictions on loans between Premiership

teams this season.

Eriksson and the FA meet with Campbell

Sol Campbell was given a personal audience from Sven

Goran Eriksson and FA Chief Mark Palios after he

allegedly threatened to quit the England squad. Campbell

is most distressed at the treatment he has received from

the FA – especially the fact that they denied him a hearing

at the end of last season when he was accused (and tried

and convicted on Sky Sports News) of punching Solskjaer

during last season’s 2-2 draw with the Mancs at Highbury.

Pennant off in England U-21 loss…

Midfielder Jermaine Pennant was sent off for punching an

opposing player in England’s 3-0 Under-21 defeat against

Croatia. Pennant, who was red-carded after about an hour

of play when he punched Croatian Kranjcar in the face in

an off-the-ball incident, can expect to be given a three-

match-ban from International competition.

[Continued inside on page 8]

NNNNiiiicccceeee OOOOnnnneeee PPPPaaaaddddddddyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!

2

‘Nuff said

EDITORIAL First off, I’d like to welcome you all to the first issue of the Real Season. With three points in the bag against the Blue Scousers, we have a tough trip to Riverside to deal with and then what should be easier fixtures against Villa at home and Citeh (and Spunky) away. All-in-all I’m looking forward to the next few games and a good kickstart to this year’s title challenge.

I’d like to apologize for the delays in getting this issue out. As many of you may be aware, we had small power problem in New York (and much of the US North-east, not to mention Canada) last weekend and that’s set me back on many projects including the NY Gooner web site – which should be fully operational early next week. Anyway, I decided to wait on this issue and include the Everton match report and head-to-head match-ups for Boro, Villa and Everton. Thanks for your patience…

I’d also like to update you all on some plans for future issues and columns in the fanzine. Starting this issue, I’ve extended the news section – especially useful for those of you without access to the Internet or Sky Sports News. Next issue, we’ll start a new series of articles, They’re not THOF, covering our upcoming opponent’s stadiums providing useful information for those planning on attending the games or background for those who may not have had the opportunity to visit the grounds themselves.

Another new column that will be starting in a few issues time deals with The Heroes of Highbury – those players and club figures who have had major impact on The Gunners’ success. Some of those who will be featured include Tony Adams, Ian Wright, Alex James, Cliff Bastin, Ian Wright, Charlie George and Liam Brady. This is, obviously, an incomplete list of those who will get covered and I’m interested to hear of your favourite players or managers who you’d like to see in print.

The next issue will be out in time for the Citeh game and will include a review of Championship Manager 4 and the first of a two-part series reviewing the 2003/4 season with me running The Gunners – which was a pretty mixed season for a Rookie manager in the Premiership. I will also provide previews of England’s upcoming Euro 2004 qualifiers. Anyway, that’s it for now…

See you at the Bar! - Grahame.

FEATURES THIS WEEK…FEATURES THIS WEEK…

Focus On: Jens Lehmann 4

Match Report: Community Shield 5

Everton: Head-to-Head 6

Fancy some fantasy football? 6

Match Report: Arsenal v Everton 7

More Arsenal News 8

Middlesbrough: Head-to-Head 8

Aston Villa: Head-to-Head 10

REGULAR COLUMNS…REGULAR COLUMNS…

Premier League Table 3

Nevada Smiths Football Schedule 3

Caption Competition 9

Injury Report 11

We Saw You At The Bar! 12

Player Songs of The Arsenal 13

Can You Hear The Arsenal Sing? 14

3

NOW SHOWING AT NEVADA SMITHS

Wednesday August 20th, 2003

FRIENDLY: England v Croatia – 3PM (Live)

Saturday August 23rd, 2003

Newcastle United v Manchester United – 7AM (Live)

Chelsea v Leicester City – 10AM (Live)

Tottenham Hotspur v Leeds United – 12PM (Tape Delay)

SERIE A SEASON KICK-OFF WEEKEND (Games TBA)

Sunday August 24th, 2003

Aston Villa v Liverpool – 9AM (Live)

Middlesbrough v ARSENAL – 11AM (Live)

MLS: NY/NJ MetroStars v Chicago – 4PM (Live)

SERIE A SEASON KICK-OFF WEEKEND (Games TBA)

Monday August 25th, 2003

Blackburn v Manchester City – 3PM (Live)

Wednesday August 27th, 2003

Manchester United v Wolves – 3PM (Live)

Friday August 29th, 2003

UEFA SUPER CUP FINAL

FC Porto v Milan – 2.45PM (Live)

Saturday August 30th, 2003

LA LIGA SEASON KICK-OFF WEEKEND (Games TBA)

WANT TO CONTRIBUTE?

We here at New York Gooners are looking for willing souls

who would like to contribute to the success of the fanzine

(with articles, jokes and personal stories) and the

Supporters Club…

Anyone who’d like to help out can either contact us at

Nevada Smiths on game days or send an e-mail to

contributions@nygooners.com.

Any help you can provide would be appreciated!

We’re also happy to receive your letters and feedback,

which can be sent to

letters@nygooners.com.

Barclaycard Premier League, 18th Aug 2003 P W D L GD Pts Blackburn 1 1 0 0 4 3 Man United 1 1 0 0 4 3 Man City 1 1 0 0 3 3 Fulham 1 1 0 0 1 3 Arsenal 1 1 0 0 1 3 Chelsea 1 1 0 0 1 3 Portsmouth 1 1 0 0 1 3 Birmingham 1 1 0 0 1 3 Leeds 1 0 1 0 0 1 Leicester 1 0 1 0 0 1 Newcastle 1 0 1 0 0 1 Southampton 1 0 1 0 0 1 Middlesbrough 1 0 0 1 -1 0 Aston Villa 1 0 0 1 -1 0 Everton 1 0 0 1 -1 0 Liverpool 1 0 0 1 -1 0 Tottenham 1 0 0 1 -1 0 Charlton 1 0 0 1 -3 0 Wolves 1 0 0 1 -4 0 Bolton 1 0 0 1 -4 0

4

FOCUS ON: Jens Lehmann The Gunners’ biggest signing of the off-season was Borussia Dortmund’s Jens Lehmann as a replacement for our departed, but not forgotten, shot-stopper David Seaman. Lehmann, who has made over 400 appearances in the top flight of the German Bundesliga for Schalke 04 and Dortmund comes with a good reputation as a stopper but also with some disciplinary baggage (as can be seen from the number of cards – especially red – that he picked up in last season’s competitions). In fact, I heard someone claim on TV that, “Lehmann could pick up a red card in an empty penalty area”. He should fit right in at Highbury K The 33-year-old gained acclaim during the 1997 UEFA Cup final LEHMANN’S 2002/3 SEASON STATISTICS

Competition Team Apps

Bundesliga Borussia Dortmund 24 0 3 2 Champions League Borussia Dortmund 12 0 1 0 Euro 2004 Qualifying Germany 0 0 0 0 36 0 4 2

against the Nerazzurri (Inter Milan) when he stopped several penalties to help his team to a UEFA Cup victory. One month later he made history when he became the first goalkeeper in the Bundesliga to score a field goal when he scored the equalizer in a 2-2 draw against his future club Borussia Dortmund. After his success in the UEFA Cup Inter decided to pick him up for themselves but, like many teams that have poached a player who has impressed against them – Micky Thomas and Liverpool come to mind) he had a disastrous start, including one memorable outing against Fiorentina when he gifted Batistuta a famous hat-trick, and was sent off to Dortmund after just five starts. The move back to the Bundesliga seemed to reinvigorate him though and he was a contributing factor to Dortmund’s successful Championship run and their appearance as UEFA Cup finalists in 2002 bringing his total number of starts in European Competition over the half-century-mark. Lehmann is regarded as one of the best keepers in Germany and is regularly selected for the German Senior International XI, though the continued health of robotic Oliver Kahn means that he is rarely started. He was selected for the World Cup 1998 and 2002 and for the Euro2000 squad. He was also recently selected for Germany’s remaining Euro2004 qualifiers.

5

Match Report: COMMUNITY SHIELD

Arsenal 1 (1) Manchester United 1 (1)

August 10th, 2003 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff) Gooner turnout at Nevada’s and in Cardiff was down this year but I don’t think anyone is really worried by either. The match, the equivalent of other country’s meaningless Super Cups, has lost its appeal in recent years with both managers and fans worried at the potential for injury just before the start of the real season on the following Saturday. That, together with the Gooners experiences on British Rail last May and the $20 door charge from Setanta in the US, left many – I suspect – waiting for the next weekend and a meaningful Premiership fixture (and free entry in the bars). For the first time in a while, the Mancs outnumbered the NY Gooners, but this was more down to the addition of 50,000 moppets (the plastic Mancs) rather than the presence of that many real, long-term, United fans. With field temperatures exceeding 105°F it was surprising how competitive the game turned out to be, though the rivalry between the two teams has not reduced in the off-season and was quickly demonstrated with Phil Neville picking up a yellow in the first minute for a lunge on Vieira. Other players were lucky to escape with a warning or yellows as Scholes took out Lauren and Cole kicked out at the hated figure of Solskjaer after knocking Butt to the floor. Sol Campbell was lucky to stay on the pitch after a retaliatory kick on Djemba-Djemba, but the latter’s studs-high tackle on Sol’s groin was worth at least a yellow too. Sol has, of course, come to regret his thoughtless action though, as the FA’s Video Panel are reviewing the matter and may penalize him with forthcoming match-bans. The worst incident of the day came late in the game when, after being floored by Phil Neville, he kicked him and saw red from referee Steve Bennett. Had he done nothing, Neville would probably have picked up his second yellow and it may have been the Mancs who’d have played the last part of the game with 10-men and one less striker, rather than The Gunners. The first goal was scored by United after Solskjaer forced a corner from Cole in the 15th minute. Giggs kicked a fine ball in which was flicked on by the head of Keane to an unmarked Silvestre, who headed it into the back of the net. Questions remain as far as who was to blame – it certainly wasn’t Lehmann at fault, most opinion points to Kolo Toure – who is likely to be Sol’s main partner in the centre of our defence. The Gunners demonstrated their determination though by not giving in, despite the rising temperatures. Just over fifteen minutes after falling behind, Vieira was brought-down by Nicky Butt just outside the penalty area and Henry stepped up to do the honours. Manchester had started with newcomer Tim Howard in goal rather than their more experienced shot-stoppers and he seemed unable to properly organize the wall or position himself well. Henry’s free-kick was, however, a scorcher and Howard could not reach it before the ball curled in by the post for the equalizing goal. Neither team seemed to tire too much even when Arsenal were reduced to ten late in the game, and the score remained tied and the game went straight to penalties. Manchester United struck first with Scholes putting his strike beyond Lehmann (though the German correctly guessed the right ball’s direction almost every time he was between the posts). Edu responded with a goal of his own, and Ferdinand made it 2-1. Howard became an instant Manc hero when he saved Bronckhorst’s kick but Lehmann responded well and saved from Van Nistelrooy (causing much hilarity at the bar!). Wiltord scored, as did Solskjaer, then Lauren scored another of his trademark dribbles from the spot. Amazingly, even Diego Forlan could score from a penalty but, when Howard made a pretty good save on Pires, the game was lost… Arsenal: Lehmann; Lauren, Campbell, Touré, Cole; Parlour (Pires, h-t), Vieira, Silva (Edu, 60), Ljungberg (Van Bronckhorst, 65); Bergkamp (Jeffers, 60), Henry (Wiltord, h-t). Substitutes not used: Cygan, Taylor Manchester United: Howard; P Neville (Forlan, 79), Ferdinand, Silvestre, Fortune (O'Shea 69); Keane, Butt (Djemba-Djemba, 60), Solskjaer, Scholes, Giggs; Van Nistelrooy. Substitutes not used: Bellion, Richardson, Fletcher, Carroll

6

Everton: Head-to-Head Mark Halsey will be refereeing this, the 177th meeting between Arsenal and Everton – two of the longest-serving teams in the top English Division. Arsenal actually hold the longevity record with 78 consecutive seasons in the top-flight, not having been relegated since their promotion – at the expense of the Old Enemy – in 1919. Everton are celebrating their 50th consecutive season in the top division after securing promotion during the 1953-4 season.

Arsenal

Wins

Draws Everton

Wins

Premier League

14 5 3

Football League

64 29 49

FA Cup 1 0 2

League Cup

4 3 2

Community Shield

1 0 0

Total 84 37 56

Arsenal’s record against Everton since the formation of the Premier League has been exemplary with 14 wins for the Gunners, five draws and just 3 wins for the Toffees, all but one of them at Goodison Park. Highbury has lived up to its Fortress-moniker as far as Blue Scousers are concerned with Arsenal picking up 9 wins, one draw and just one loss; that loss happening “long” ago in January 1996 when they beat us 2-1 thanks to goals from Stuart and Kanchelskis.

Feb 6th, 1932: Everton 1 – 3 Arsenal

This 3-1 away-victory over Everton at Goodison Park was not enough to prevent Everton from winning the League (with Arsenal trailing by 2 points in second place).

Oct 18th, 1933: Everton 0 – 3 Arsenal

Our only FA Charity Shield fixture against the Toffees saw the League-winning Gunners hammer the FA Cup

TTThhheee NNNeeewww YYYooorrrkkk GGGoooooonnneeerrrsss aaarrreee rrruuunnnnnniiinnnggg aaa dddiiivvviiisssiiiooonnn iiinnn ttthhheee PPPFFFSSSpppooorrrtttsss...cccooommm fffaaannntttaaasssyyy

fffooooootttbbbaaallllll llleeeaaaggguuueee ttthhhiiisss yyyeeeaaarrr aaannnddd wwweee’’’ddd llliiikkkeee tttooo iiinnnvvviiittteee aaannnyyyooonnneee iiinnnttteeerrreeesssttteeeddd tttooo jjjoooiiinnn uuusss!!!

WWWhhhaaattt dddooo yyyooouuu gggeeettt fffrrrooommm PPPFFFSSSpppooorrrtttsss...cccooommm??? LLLOOOWWW ppprrr iii ccceee ooofff $$$111222 pppeeerrr ttteeeaaammm... DDDIIISSSCCCOOOUUUNNNTTTSSS fff ooorrr mmmuuulll ttt iiipppllleee ttteeeaaammmsss... MMMEEEMMMBBBEEERRR HHHOOOMMMEEEPPPAAAGGGEEE aaalll lllooowwwsss yyyooouuu tttooo mmmaaannnaaagggeee aaalll lll yyyooouuurrr dddiii fff fff eeerrreeennnttt ttteeeaaammmsss fff rrrooommm ooonnneee lllooocccaaattt iiiooonnn... HHHEEEAAADDD TTTOOO HHHEEEAAADDD DDDiiivvv iiisssiiiooonnn MMMaaatttccchhhuuupppsss... SSSCCCOOORRRIIINNNGGG UUUPPPDDDAAATTTEEEDDD dddaaaiii lll yyy... CCCUUUPPP aaannnddd CCCHHHAAAMMMPPPIIIOOONNNSSS LLLEEEAAAGGGUUUEEE CCCOOOMMMPPPEEETTTIIITTTIIIOOONNNSSS NNNEEEWWWSSS &&& EEEVVVEEENNNTTTSSS cccooonnnccceeerrrnnniiinnnggg ttthhheee sssiii ttteee aaannnddd ttthhheee WWW ooorrr lllddd ooofff SSSooocccccceeerrr EEEAAASSSYYY TTTOOO FFFOOOLLLLLLOOOWWW RRRuuullleeesss aaannnddd GGGaaammmeee PPPlllaaayyy BBBUUULLLLLLEEETTTIIINNN BBBOOOAAARRRDDD tttooo pppooosssttt mmmeeessssssaaagggeeesss PPPRRRIIIZZZEEESSS FFFOOORRR OOOVVVEEERRRAAALLLLLL AAANNNDDD DDDIIIVVVIIISSSIIIOOONNN WWWIIINNNNNNEEERRRSSS aaannnddd RRRUUUNNNNNNEEERRRSSS UUUPPP

SSSIIIGGGNNN UUUPPP AAATTT wwwwwwwww...pppfffssspppooorrrtttsss...cccooommm aaannnddd

ssseeennnddd yyyooouuurrr ttteeeaaammm nnnaaammmeee tttooo fffaaannntttaaasssyyy@@@nnnyyygggoooooonnneeerrrsss...cccooommm tttooo rrreeegggiiisssttteeerrr fffooorrr

ttthhheee NNNYYY GGGoooooonnneeerrrsss DDDiiivvviiisssiiiooonnn!!!!!!!!!

winners with three second-half goals.

This May 3rd, 1998: Arsenal 4 – 0 Everton

A Bilic own goal, a brace from Overmars and a superb final goal from Tony saw us breeze through this game and pick up the Championship Trophy for the 12th time in history and then go on to beat Newcastle in the FA Cup Final at Wembley for our second Double.

Oct 19th, 2002: Everton 2 – 1 Arsenal

Freddie’s opener after 8 minutes should have led to another comfortable win, but a 22nd minute strike by Radzinski equalized the score and a last minute shocker from teenage sensation Wayne Rooney left the Toffees with all three points – a loss which would come back to haunt the Gunners at the end of the season.

7

Match Report: Arsenal 2 (1) Everton 1 (0)

August 16th, 2003 (Highbury, London) This was a very mixed opener for Arsenal, though eerily reminiscent of the opening fixture of the Double Winning Season of 2001/2 when Ray Parlour was sent off during our 4-0 thrashing of Middlesbrough. This game saw us take three points but lose Campbell again after he saw red in the 26th minute. Arsenal started weakly and it was a back-and-forth game in the opening minutes with Everton having a great chance to go ahead in the sixth minute after Radzinski played a great cross that was poked in by Nick Chadwick. Only a brilliant save by our new Number One, Jens Lehmann, saved us from having to come behind, a task which would have been a lot more difficult after Sol brought down Gravesen just outside the box. The referee adjudged him to have prevented a fine scoring opportunity and presented him with a red card, which took the Gunners to a familiar 10-men 4-4-1 formation after Wiltord was replaced with a recovered Martin Keown. The team was obviously irritated with the perceived injustice of again being reduced to 10 men and their level of play seemed to immediately pick up by a couple of gears. To be honest, we didn’t need to do that much to outplay Everton anyway, and the visitors were to see little of the ball for the rest of the game. Arsenal had two clear penalty calls waved off by the ref though and the perceived bias against The Gunners got them performing to new levels, at least in this game. It took until the 34th minute before Arsenal were on the scoreboard, this time being awarded a penalty that the referee and linesmen could not ignore after Stubbs (the fan’s hero against Rangers) handled the ball to stop an Henry chip.

Henry punished Stubbs for his indiscretion by stepping up to the spot and placing a fine ball out of the reach of a, thankfully, former-Gunner, Richard Wright. Everton continued to hold and looked to repeat their victory at Goodison last season by bringing on youngster Wayne Rooney in the 56th minute. He looked like he hasn’t fully recovered from his injury though and was always a step behind his opponents, which was perhaps the reason for a number of clumsy challenges from the talented 17-year-old. Within seconds of the substitution Arsenal extended their lead after a fine strike from Henry was blocked by Wright, fell to Vieira who sent in a shot which was also saved, only for the

rebound to land at Pires’ feet. He made no mistake and put the ball quickly into the back of the net – 2-0 to The Arsenal, A small side note here: Down at Nevada’s the NY Gooners were in fine voice at this point in the game – after a bit of a slow start. Not so the Mancs, either during our game or their own. Their recent tour, and winning of the Championship last year, has gifted them with more plastic fans than I’ve seen in quite some time and there were few who even knew the words to their own teams’ songs. There were some real fans there and they did try as desperately as they could to get some chants going, but not enough to prevent us from singing old favourites such as “Shall we sing a song for you?” Their was more drama in the closing minutes after Radzinski scored when the defence failed to clear a corner from Rooney, but Everton’s chances of snatching a point were dashed when the card-happy referee decided to award a second yellow to Li Tie after another reckless challenge on poor old Ray Parlour. Arsenal: Lehmann, Lauren, Cole, Campbell, Toure, Pires (Parlour, 70), Vieira, Ljungberg, Gilberto, Wiltord (Keown, 30), Henry. Substitutes not used: Jeffers, Bergkamp, Taylor Everton: Wright, Pistone, Stubbs, Yobo, Unsworth (Tie, 67), Watson, Pembridge (Naysmith, 67), Gravesen, Linderoth (Rooney, 57), Radzinski, Chadwick. Substitutes not used: Weir, Simonsen Referee: M Halsey

8

NEWS IN BRIEF [continued from front page]

Not again!!!

The FA has confirmed that it has charged Sol Campbell

with violent conduct after a review by the Video

Disciplinary Panel of his retaliatory kick on Manchester

United’s Djemba-Djemba in the FA Community Shield. If

found guilty, Sol will receive an additional four-match-ban

on top of the one-match-ban he was handed for his red

card in the Everton game. Arsenal FC has requested a

personal hearing to contest the charges.

Arsenal (1) 2 – 1 (0) Everton

August 16th, 2003 (Highbury, London) Arsenal played Everton off the pitch with just 10 men and was unlucky to not have scored three or four. Sol was red-carded in the 26th minute for bringing down Gravesen just outside the box meaning he will miss the Boro game on Sunday. [See the full match report on page 7]

Ashley dodges a bullet!

Ashley Cole got away with one when it was announced

that he would receive no further punishment for his

petulant kick on Solskjaer in the FA Community Shield.

Cole escapes further investigation thanks to a rule that

says that no further action can be taken if the referee has

punished the player on the field – either with a card or

free-kick.

PIRES AND VIEIRA SIGN NEW CONTRACTS!!!

Captain, Patrick Vieira and midfield dynamo Robert Pires

have both signed new contracts with the Gunners. Vieira

has signed until 2007 and Pires until 2006, thus ended

this year’s contract saga. Sylvain Wiltord has not yet re-

signed and the club has hinted that the problems with

him may be insurmountable.

Arsenal (1) 1 – 1p (1) Manchester United

August 10th, 2003 (Millennium Stadium, Cardiff) Arsenal were the better team during normal time but were unable to convert this superiority to a winning goal, taking the game to penalties. Lehmann looked good between the posts, even saving from Van Diver, but Tim Howard’s save of Robert Pires’ strike won the game for the Mancs.[See the full match report on page 5]

Middlesbrough: Head-to-Head Only having met six times in the Premier League, Middlesbrough playing in Division One in 1993/4, 1994/5 and 1997/8, Arsenal have won the lion’s share of their match-ups with Boro having won one each at Ayresome Park and Riverside and one, very embarrassing, loss at Highbury in April 2001.

Arsenal

Wins

Draws ‘Boro Wins

Premier League

10 3 3

Football League

42 24 24

FA Cup 4 1 2

League Cup

0 1 0

Total 56 29 29

Apr 24th, 1999: Middlesbrough 1 – 6 Arsenal Braces from Anelka and Kanu and one each from Overmars and Vieira made this an entertaining away fixture for the travelling Gooners. Following the previous week’s 5-1 home victory over Wimbledon and the fine run of form in the next two games – including a 3-1 hammering of Spurs at S**te Hart Lane – we lost the League to the Mancs by just one point after losing to Leeds at Elland Road in the penultimate game of the season. Apr 14th, 2001: Arsenal 0 – 3 Middlesbrough This disastrous loss against ‘Boro in the end-of-season dash was not the only reason that the Gunners finished 10 points behind the Mancs that year, but it was a big factor in the loss of morale that led to us losing to Valencia in the UEFA Cup quarter-final second leg and the poor showing in our last three games against the Scousers, Geordies and Saints. It did not help at all that two of Boro’s goals were scored by Arsenal players – one from Edu and another from Silvinho in the first half. Apr 14th, 2002: Middlesbrough 0 – 1 Arsenal One year later and an own goal from Festa took us through to an FA Cup final against Chelsea and The Gunners’ third Double in 21 years.

9

CCaappttiioonn CCoommppeettiittiioonn WWIINN AA SSCCAARRFF!!!!!!

Don’t forget to get your entries to us before the end of the month.

You can either send your suggestions to captions@nygooners.com, go to the Caption Competition page on the NY Gooners website (www.nygooners.com), or just tell them to us in the bar.

Closing date for this competition is September 1st.

The person submitting the best quote by that date will win an Arsenal scarf (donated by Grahame).

The Judge looks exasperated and says to the boy "Well Johnny, who would you like to live with?" "I'd like to live with the Tottenham Hotspur Football Club" the boy replied quickly. "Why on earth would you want to live with Spurs?" replied the now extremely puzzled Judge. "Well" replied Johnny, "They never beat anyone"

A primary teacher starts a new job at a school on Merseyside and, trying to make a good impression on her first day, explains to her class that she is a Liverpool fan. She asks her students to raise their hands if they, too, are Liverpool fans. Everyone in the class raises their hand except one little girl. The teacher looks at the girl with surprise and says: "Mary, why didn't you raise your hand?" "Because I'm not a Liverpool fan," she replied. The teacher, still shocked, asks: "Well, if you're not a Liverpool fan, then who are you a fan of?" "I'm a Manchester United fan, and proud of it," Mary replied. The teacher could not believe her ears. "Mary, why are you a United fan?" "Because my mum and dad are from Manchester, and my mum is a United fan and my dad is a United fan, so I'm a United fan too!" "Well," said the teacher, in an annoyed tone, "that's no reason for you to be a United fan. You don't have to be just like your parents all of the time. What if your mum was a prostitute and your dad was a drug addict and car thief, what would you be then?" "Then," Mary smiled, "I'd be a Liverpool fan." A couple in the middle of a messy divorce case find themselves in court battling over custody of little Johnny, their only child. In order to make a fair decision over the boys future, the Judge takes Johnny into his private chambers so that he can find out which of the parents the boy would prefer to live with. "Well, Johnny" says the Judge, "Would you like to live with your Mother?" "No" replied Johnny, "she hits me all the time" "Well then," the Judge continues, "Would you like to live your Father?" "No" replied Johnny again, "He hits me all the time too!"

10

trailing by 2-0. In the second half, Arsenal gave the Villans a footballing master class and goals from Wiltord (just after the restart) and a brace from Henry (in the 72nd and 90th minutes) gave the team a hard-fought come-from-behind victory and kick-started our title run-in that would see us only lose to Newcastle.

Apr 5th, 2003: Aston Villa 1 – 1 Arsenal

Another nail in the Championship coffin last year was hammered in with a Toure own-goal which negated Freddie’s 56th minute strike at the other end and lost us another vital two points.

Aston Villa: Head-to-Head Aston Villa has always been one of Arsenal’s bogey teams (especially at Villa Park) as can be seen by the breakdown of head-to-head results where both teams are currently tied on 63 wins with 39 games having ended in a draw.

Arsenal

Wins

Draws Aston Villa

Wins

Premier League

9 8 5

Football League

48 25 53

FA Cup 6 3 3

League Cup

0 3 2

Total 63 39 63

The record since the Premiership began is more skewed with The Gunners having the lion’s share of victories, but Villa Park has still been the scene of several draws or losses that have, at times, seriously impacted our title hopes. Villa is also one of those teams that we’ve met several times in the League or FA Cups with many of the fixtures ending in draws, many of which ended with a Villa win in a replay… after all, no one ever said that Villa aren’t a decent Cup team.

Feb 2nd, 1996: Arsenal 2 – 2 Aston Villa

Two goals from Bergkamp left Arsenal ahead by 2-1 in this League Cup semi-final. An equalizer from Yorke (before his exodus to the Mancs) tied this fixture. We would go on to draw 0-0 at Villa Park and lose on the away goal rule while Villa went on to beat Leeds, 3-0, in the Final at Wembley.

Dec 9th, 2001: Arsenal 3 – 2 Aston Villa

After beating Juventus in midweek fans were optimistic of this, apparently, easy home fixture against Villa. By half-time most of that optimism had evaporated as strikes from, ex-Gunner, Paul Merson and Stone left us

Manchester United has dismissed accusations that they have signed a player called Ronaldo just to increase shirt sales. Sir Angry Ferguson said, “This is a ridiculous story. Would Man United try and rip off their fans? “I can assure any commercial watchdog that we have bought Cristiano Ronaldo for football reasons and it’s just a coincidence that he has a famous name and a love for daft hairstyles. “The same goes for our next new signings, Tarquin Zidane and Humperdink Shevchenko.” A recent survey has shown that 40% of Wolves fans prefer to go and watch their team to having sex. A Birmingham City fan said, “It just goes to prove that they really are a bunch of sad w**kers then.” An Arsenal fan, a Scouser and a Chinese man are in the hospital maternity ward. The doctor goes out to the fathers and he tells them that there has been a mix up with the babies. He says, "Each of you go in and choose a baby that you think is yours, then come out and then we will review the situation." The Arsenal fan goes in first and comes out with a baby. The doctor immediately spots a fault. He approaches the Arsenal fan and says, "come on lad, you know that’s the Chinese baby" to which the Gooner replies "I know, but there is a Scouse baby in there and I ain't taking no chances!"

11

Injury Ì Report Due to the late nature of this fanzine, thanks to the Power Outage, this issue’s Injury Report focuses on injured players for this week’s away fixture against Middlesbrough at Riverside Stadium.

Sol Campbell

Sol Campbell was withdrawn from the England squad that faces Croatia in a friendly on Wednesday due to a minor shoulder injury. He is expected to be fit for the game against Villa (missing the Boro game after picking up a red card during the Everton home tie).

Philippe Senderos

Senderos has recovered from his calf injury but is suffering from a back injury.

Pascal Cygan

Pascal Cygan is expected to be out for about a week after picking up a hamstring injury

Freddie Ljungberg

Although Freddie played in the home opener against Everton he was nursing a shoulder injury he picked up in the FA Community Shield. He has been withdrawn from the Swedish squad that will face Greece in a friendly on Wednesday but is expected to be back in our squad for the Boro game on Sunday.

HomeHome&&AwayAway FOCAL VOCAL & IN YOUR MAIN LOCAL

Pick it up FREE in your local for

Ø Comprehensive coverage of football

including columns from Tony Quinn, Nevada Smiths’ Jack Keane and our very own, Grahame Curtis…

Ø Extensive and in-depth GAA reports…

Ø The Best Jokes and Puzzles… Ø Local Interest Stories… Ø Rugby, Formula One and More!!!

Published every Monday!

In the next Issue:

Ø Match reports from our first away fixture at Riverside, and Villa at home

Ø Previews of the early season fixture against Manchester City and England’s upcoming Euro2004 qualifiers

Ø Focus on: Jeremie Aliadiere

Available on August 31st at Nevada Smiths. Come join us for the match against City and our first glance at David Seaman behind their dodgy defence!!!

A Sunderland supporter goes to his doctor to find out what's wrong with him. "Your problem is you're fat, "says the doctor. "I'd like a second opinion,” responds the man. "OK, you're ugly too" replies the doctor. This Scouser has just nicked a motor and he and his wife are checking it over to see how much they can get fur it. The man asks his wife "I'll press the indicators you see if they work" The thick Scouse women goes to the back of the car and says, "Yep it’s working! Oh no its not! It is now! No, it's stopped again! Working..."

Q: What do you call a Chelsea fan on the moon? A: A Problem. Q: What do you call 100 Chelsea fans on the moon? A: An even bigger problem. Q: What do you call all the Chelsea fans on the moon? A: Problem solved

12

We saw you at the bar… for the Community Shield! Unfortunately I could only take two photos during last week’s Community Shield – thanks to me forgetting to recharge my camera’s batteries. So here they are, together with some more photos from last season...

GGGooottt aaa cccaaammmeeerrraaa??? TTThhheeennn tttaaakkkeee sssooommmeee pppiiicccsss aaannnddd

mmmaaaiiilll ttthhheeemmm tttooo uuusss ttthhheeennn!!!

13

Player Songs of The Arsenal

Vieira Vieeeeeeira, ooh, oh, ooh, oh,

Vieeeeeeira, ooh, oh, ooh, oh,

He comes from Senegal, he plays for Arsenal,

Vieeeeeeira, ooh, oh, ooh, oh

Henry Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry, Thierry Henry,

Went down the lane, the other night,

To tell the scum we’ve got the new Ian Wright,

They said to me, how can that be,

I said to them Thierry Henry

Denis! There’s only one Denis Bergkamp, there’s only one Denis Bergkamp,

Walking along, singing a song,

Walking in a Bergkamp wonderland…

We’ve got Denis Bergkamp; we’ve got Denis Bergkamp, na-na-na-naah, na-na-na-naah

Freddie! We love you Freddie because you've got red hair,

We love you Freddie because you’re everywhere,

We love you Freddie,

Cause you're Arsenal through and through!

("You're just too good to be true")

Wiltord Sylvain Wiltord is a Gooner,

Sylvain Wiltord is a Gooner,

Sylvain Wiltord is a Gooner,

And he plays for Arsenal

Parlour Ooh-aah, Ray Parlour (repeat)

Keown

Kee-own!

There's only one Keown,

There's only one Keown,

There's only one Keown. Kanu Chim-chimmney, chim-chimmney,

Chim-chim-charoo

Who needs Anelka, when we’ve got Kanu?

Sol Double Double

Sol Campbell has won the double

And those c**ts from the lane

Have won f**k all again

And Sol Campbell has won the double

Heeeeey hey Tott’numb

You... Scum…

I wanna know…

Where your captains gone?

Ashley Ashley Cole, COLE

Always believe in your soul,

You've got the power to know,

You're indestructible,

Always believe in....

(“Gold”, Spandau Ballet)

14

Can You Hear The Arsenal Sing?

Good Old Arsenal Good Old Arsenal,

We’re proud to say that name,

While we sing this song,

We’ll win the game

(“Rule Britannia”)

Ooh! Ooh, ooh, ooh to be, Ooh to be a, Gooner!

You are my Arsenal You are my Arsenal, my only Arsenal,

You make me happy, when skies are gray,

You’ll never know just, how much I love you,

So please don’t take my Arsenal, away

(“You are my Sunshine”)

Super Arsenal And it’s Ar-sen-al, Ar-sen-al FC,

We’re by far, the greatest team, the world has ever seen

(“The Wild Rover”)

Who’s the team? Who’s the team we call the Arsenal,

Who’s the team we all adore,

They’re the Boys in Red and White,

And they fight with all their might,

And they just show us how to score

(“Ally’s Army”)

Red and White Army (chant) Arsène Wenger’s Red and White Army!

We hate Tott’numb!

Arsène Wenger’s Red and White Army

We hate Tott’numb!

We won the League… We won the League, in Manchester,

We won the League in Manchester.

We won the League, at Old Trafford,

We won the League in Manchester.

(Still worth singing at the Mancs!)

Gooner ‘til I die! I'm a Gooner ‘til I die! I'm a Gooner ‘til I die!,

I know I am,

I'm sure I am,

I'm a Gooner ‘til I die!

Paddy’s Song…

By Jesus said Paddy, I sing it so well,

I think I'll get up and I'll sing it again,

So Paddy got up and he sang it again,

Over and over and over again...........

One Team!

One team in London,

There's only one team in London,

One team in London,

There's only one team in London

One-nil to The Arsenal One-nil to The Arsenal,

One-nil to The Arsenal (repeat)

HOW TO CONTACT US! If you are interested in joining the NY Gooners, send an e-mail to gooners@nygooners.com or talk to us at Nevada Smiths on match days.

We’re looking for both new members and anyone who’d like to contribute to the newsletter, website or to help organize the Supporter’s Club