Wednesday 20 November 2013

Meet the Gooner Family [Nathan Eggers, San Diego]

Meet Nathan Eggers, another member of the Gooner Family who put me up in San Diego for a night.

Nathan was one of a few Gooners that made their way up to Orange County to participate in the fundraising festivities during the United match.

Gooner On The Road & 'Eggers'

Q. Why Arsenal? The whole club just exudes class. From management to the players to the supporters, it is a group that joins together and fights for what they believe in. I feel the sense that the club picked me instead of the other way around. Also its the Gooner Family as well, I have met so many wonderful and interesting people because of this alliance that we have.

Q. Started Supporting Arsenal? 2006/07, it started with playing FIFA as I think it does with quite a few Americans. It was how I found out about the players at first and it just blossomed into the love affair I now have for this club.

Q. Favourite Player? Think I would have to go with Thierry Henry. He was just a shear joy to watch. He made everything look so fluid and easy.

Q. Favourite current Player? Gonna have to go with Aaron Ramsey on this one. To go through the injury he did, and the stretch of poor form in addition to getting heckled from a growing collection of supporters I really admire his attitude and determination to get to where he is playing at the moment. That is someone I want wearing the Arsenal badge.

Q. Favourite Arsenal moment? It has to be the Arshavin winner against Barcelona. That counter attack was something beautiful. I will always remember the commentator screaming Arshavinnnnnnnn!!!!!

Q. Where do you watch Arsenal in San Diego? Bluefoot Bar & Lounge with the San Diego Gooners and our growing assembly of supporters.

Q. Emirates or Highbury? Its hard to be a judge when you have never been to either place, but I am very excited to watch my first Arsenal match in person this December.

Q. League Prediction? I truly believe that we can win the title this season. We have gotten off to a good start and now that we are getting some of our wingers back I'm very confident we will be challenging for the title. This squad is the most unified squad I have seen playing for Arsenal since I started watching them, each player is ready to battle for the others.

Q. Who will be Arsenal's player to watch this season? The defense has grown alot this season and especially Kieran Gibbs. He is starting to become a very solid left back and now that he has a run of games without seeing the trainers table his form is really started to come about. He hasn't gotten much credit for his performances but I think thats the way he likes it.

Meet the Gooner Family [Nick Lellenberg, San Diego]

Meet Nick Lellenberg, host for a few nights in San Diego. Nick came up to Santa Ana for the fundraiser and invited me to head down to his place for a few nights to experience a slightly less pandemoniac California - I wasn't disappointed.

Nick helps to keep Arsenal America ticking over with news updates and features, but when he's working for actual money, he's an admissions tutor at one of the private schools in La Jolla (an affluent 'retirement community' north of SD).

Gooner On The Road and Napoleon Dynamite - typical San Diego Sunset.

Nick Lellenberg

Q. Why Arsenal?
When I was small I went to France every Summer with my family and I grew up watching France in 1998 and 2000, the French Contingent of Arsenal were in their prime. It was mesmerising watching Arsenal play.

Q. Started Supporting Arsenal?
The first game I watched was the 4-1 win over Norwich in 2005. The only reason I was watching was because my grandmother grew up in Norwich and I recognised the name of the team. Of course, Henry scored a hat-trick and it was Arsenal that I paid more attention to.

Q. Favourite all time Player?
Has to be Thierry Henry. Everybody loves the goalscorer. I watched him when he was playing for France, young and still learning.

Q. Favourite current Player?
Sagna. Unheralded. He broke his leg twice in a year but he's been with us for eight years and he is a workhorse, he never moans or gets caught up in the press for reasons right or wrong and he's got amazing headgear.

Q. Favourite Arsenal moment?
Being in the away end at White Hart Lane when we won 3-1 in 2007 was great, but my most memorable was another away trip, this time to Milan at the San Siro (same season) where we won 2-0 despite the odds being against us – no English team had beaten AC Milan on their home turf until that evening.

Q.Where do you watch Arsenal in San Diego?
The Blue Foot Bar & Lounge in North Park. We have around 30 people to every game, we've been going for around 18 months and we're growing all the time.

Q. Emirates or Highbury?
I never got to Highbury (I was one season too late) so I guess it's got to be the Emirates.

Q. League Prediction?
Top 2. I'm not comfortable saying which position (1 or 2) but I genuinely think we are at least runners up.

Q. Who will be Arsenal's player to watch this season?

Mertesacker has been tearing it up. He's not very fast but he reads the game so well that he doesn't need to be. He has the potential to be a captain.