My last trip to Highbury was in 1996, right before up and moving to the United States. Dennis Bergkamp and Ian Wright started up front, but it was Glenn Helder I was there to see. There was something about that Dutch kid that I thought would take him to becoming our best player....
I knew moving to Michigan would prove a heavy obstacle in allowing me to see my next Arsenal game, but I would not have guessed it would take 18 years for me to get up close with the boys in Red & White. Even this pre-season friendly has me excited. Perhaps not for the result, but to be around the fans again, to be immersed in the event that is Arsenal Football Club.
Detroit has a serious, growing support of Football right now, and it's good to see. It's a different type of fan that you would see in the North Bank at the Emirates, but they're fans of the same thing we are - Football. The same goes for the rest of the country, and the fact that the United States put on such good show at the World Cup in Brazil last month went a long way to increasing the passion.
From an Arsenal point of view, the fan base is huge. Almost every major city has an Arsenal fan base, and that's one of the most exciting things about heading to NY to see Arsenal play the Red Bulls. It doesn't matter what someone looks like, it doesn't matter what God they pray to, nor does is matter what they do in their spare time because for that day we are all Gooners and we all have one thing in common - The Arsenal.
Don't forget, we'll also be in the new home of Arsenal legend, Thierry Henry, who has established himself as Red Bull captain over the last few years. A nice little stadium it looks like too, not huge, but very nice. Almost a smaller Emirates if you look closely, and we'll be perched right next to the Arsenal season ticket holders behind the goal. If you're heading out there yourself, drop us a line.
Gooner.com will have plenty in the way of recaps, pictures and experiences to share with you upon our return.
Although we've already played our somewhat annual game against Boreham Wood, this weekend feels like the real start to the start of the start of the season to me. After this weekend it's just a couple of short weeks until we meet Manchester City at Wembley in our first
We're on our way to New York! Come on Arsenal!
