Everyone is looking forward to seeing some of Arsenal’s Invincibles and other legends playing for the Gunners against Milan Glorie tomorrow afternoon at the Emirates, but who exactly will be on show?
The Arsenal managers are, of course, Arsene Wenger and Pat Rice, and their full squad is as follows: Jens Lehmann, David Seaman, Martin Keown, Marc Overmars, Ray Parlour, Emmanuel Petit, Pascal Cygan, Gilberto, Nigel Winterburn, Kolo Toure, Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sylvain Wiltord, Anders Limpar, Gilles Grimandi and Kanu.
There is no Thierry Henry, who is away with the Belgium national side, or Dennis Bergkamp, but there is enough quality on show to give a good account of themselves against Fabio Capello’s star-studded Glorie team. Their squad has some massive stars on show, and their full squad is: Christian Abbiati, Dida, Cafu, Paolo Maldini, Demetrio Albertini, Alessandro Costacurta, Paolo Di Canio, Edgar Davids, Marcel Desailly, Daniele Massaro, Marco Simone, Angelo Carbone, Dario Simic, Giuseppe Favalli, Kakhaber Kaladze, Zvonimir Boban, Massimo Ambrosini, Stefano Eranio, Giuseppe Pancaro, Ibrahim Ba, Serginho and Christian Vieri.
Robert Pires summed up the feelings of the Legends when he said: “We are all very excited to be taking part in this match.
“To play in front of the Arsenal fans once again will be amazing. Playing alongside some of my old team-mates against a team of Milan legends will be very emotional. I’m so proud we’re raising funds for the great work of The Arsenal Foundation.”
The match is a 60,000 sell out and the earnings will contribute to the £1m fund for the various projects that the Foundation has around the world, as well as helping local kids in the Islington area. To date, working with Arsenal in the Community and Save the Children, The Arsenal Foundation has helped develop 14 pitches locally and recently opened two pitches in Iraq for refugees from the violence.
Ivan Gazidis explained how the Foundation works and why: “It’s important that football and clubs like Arsenal use the global passion for the game to make a difference.” he said on Arsenal.com. This game gives us all a chance to create something very special here on the doorstep of Emirates Stadium and in places where children are fleeing war and drought.
“Using the Arsenal name and football as a motivating force, the club – together with its supporters, returning legends and visitors from Milan – are helping to fund pitches in places where children are living in challenging circumstances.
“These children are often football fans. The game is part of the joy of their childhood. In some places, so much of that joy has been stripped away by what they’re going through, but football pitches provide them with a place they can play, where they can be children again and do something they love.
“We are sending a message to them that Arsenal cares about them and we hope this can be a motivating force and give them hope in desperate times.”
So it not only promises tobe a feast of entertainment from our Old Boys, but it will also be doing good for kids all around the world. The profits will also be used to build five new football pitches in Jordan and two in Somalia as well, which just shows how far Arsenal’s influence can be used for good in our strife-ridden world.
If you can’t get to watch the match live, then you can see it broadcast on Arsenal.com, or you can even download the official Arsenal App and get it on your phone….