I’ve signed this especially for you

After having lunch on Saturday, we headed over to the Emirates. The Tube was unbelievably empty for a match day. Usually we’re crammed into the train car like sardines. We took the requisite walk around about 3/4ths of the stadium and then went up to the Club level. With Club seats you get a match program “for free” and can buy a drink from the bar and watch the warm ups through big windows until about 20 minutes before the match, when they bring shades over the windows. After that, they want to hurry you out to your seats before the match starts.

While we were having our beer we met another couple who travelled from Chicago to watch the match. They were big Arsenal fans and at the Emirates for the first time to celebrate a big wedding anniversary. We had a lot in common and enjoyed talking with them until we all went our separate ways to watch the match.

After everything it took to get tickets, is it ok to admit I was a bit disappointed to see about a dozen empty seats near me? Sell your tickets when you can’t use them, Arsenal family.

My seats were lower in the stadium than at any other time I’ve been and it was interesting to see things up close. I could actually make out Declan Rice’s features when he came over to my side for many corner kicks in the first half.

Arsenal looked great the whole match and I felt very relaxed. Lots of movement and space creation, solid passing, shots on goal. Arsenal’s first goal came when our defender William Saliba did a beautiful job of intercepting a pass to our flop artist Leicester City nemesis, Jamie Vardy, and it was worked down the right side of the field, then across to Gabriel Martinez on the left. He’s struggled to score for an extended period, but he did not struggle in this instance. Slow roller, perfectly placed in the left corner of the goal.

The next Arsenal goal came late in the half, again starting with a William Saliba interception and worked on the left. Gabriel Martinelli had a nice cross into the Leandro Trossard, who put a great shot past the Leicester City goalkeeper.

2-0 at the half. We regrouped with our new Chicago-area Arsenal friends in the Club for a “free” halftime drink, feeling confident.

What happened next is a bit mysterious for me. It was the only time ever I wasn’t back in my seat when the second half kicked off. When I got to my seat only a few minutes into the half, Leicester had somehow gotten a goal back. The fan next to me also did not know what happened. I had to text my son, watching in the States, to find out how the goal was scored. Seems there was a foul called on Saliba and the resulting kick by Leicester’s James Justin was deflected off our boy Kai Havertz, where our goalkeeper, David Raya, could not reach it. Quite a bit against the run of play, but these things happen.

Unfortunately, a second “these things happen” event occurred again near the middle of the half. Leicester City managed to produce a cross to James Justin again and he tagged it into the Arsenal goal via a deflection from the right goal post. One of the more beautiful goals you’ll ever see, if you can ever really appreciate a goal from your opponent. 2-2.

The Leicester City fans were way too close to me and annoyingly cheerful. And things became very quiet among the Arsenal fans. I received a text from a fellow fan, friend, and (tellingly) former boss in Chicago: “Fix this.”

I still felt confident but I had the slight sinking feeling maybe I should not. Arsenal had been looking great in the second half, but just not able to get a shot past the Leicester goal keeper.

Minutes went by and the Leicester City keeper managed to keep out everything Arsenal threw at him. Mikel Arteta made a few subs, including 17-year old Ethan Nwaneri for Thomas Partey. Partey had a great match, but Nwaneri brought unbelievable energy and very nearly scored a goal the first time he possessed the ball.

Leicester wasted time like no one’s business. We reached the full 90 minutes of match time still at 2-2.

The fourth official announced 7 minutes of added time. Not a ton of time to make things happen, but something to work with. Arsenal continued pressing and forced a number of impressive saves from Leicester’s keeper.

Arsenal is well known for its recent success in scoring from corner kicks and other set pieces. We had dozens of corner kicks on Saturday, almost all dangerous, but none resulted in a goal. That is, until about halfway into the 7 minutes of added time. Bukayo Saka put one of his perfect kicks across the goal and Leandro Trossard smashed it. From my seat, all I saw of the actual goal was all the Arsenal fans behind the goal raising up and shouting “YEAH!” in unison. That was proof enough for me that a goal happened. Trossard’s kick had ricocheted off the leg of a Leicester defender and into the goal.

The added time lasted much longer than 7 minutes because of the goal and ensuing celebrations and some time wasting by Leicester (before the goal) and Arsenal (after the goal). It lasted long enough for another counterattack by Arsenal via Gabriel Jesus. He took way too long to get off a pass to two open teammates, but when he finally did shoot, the Leicester goalkeeper spilled it. Kai Havertz was there to give it the nudge across the line.

The goal was immediately flagged for offside and a VAR check was triggered. The only time I felt nervous during the game was during that VAR check. I still felt that Leicester could score another goal and tie it up. But VAR overturned the on-field call and the goal was counted. The match ended 4-2 not long after.

As I was standing after the match in the stands getting a photo of the final score and dancing and singing along with the other fans, a man walked up to me and tried to hand me his match program. “This is for you,” he said. I was taken a bit aback because every one in the Club section had been given a match program. He said, “I’ve signed this especially for you.”

So I took his program and handed him mine. Was he a famous person? Had he been an Arsenal player? Was he a random dude?

Over the next couple of days I’ve looked all through that program and one thing is abundantly clear: there is no signature.

We met our new Chicago friends after the match in the Club for one more drink and bathed in the 3 points. We took pictures at the Arsene Wenger statue and said our goodbyes, and my husband and I headed back to our hotel. Along the way we made an impromptu decision to get off the Tube at High Street and see if we could have dinner at the Princess of Shoreditch, one of our favorite London restaurants. Luckily, Saturday is a relatively quiet night at the Princess and we were able to have a delicious dinner.