David Alexander (@ArsenalAddict) started supporting Arsenal in the late 1970s.
He watched the despair of the FA Cup finals against Ipswich in 1978 and West Ham in 1980 and the drama against Manchester United in 1979 and was hooked.
A season ticket holder, he sits in the upper tier behind the tunnel at the Emirates Stadium.
When did you start supporting Arsenal and why?
My parents had no interest in football when I was young, but I was brought up with Action Man, the soldier doll, so when I saw the cannon on the Arsenal crest, I decided to support Arsenal.
It was the late 1970s and I had no idea who they were or how big a club they were/are.
What was your first Arsenal match?
Some friends of the family took me to watch Arsenal host Liverpool in 1983. I can barely remember anything else except the noise of the crowd and the walk up Avenell Road to the turnstiles.
I’d never seen anything like it. We lost 2-0 and my main memory of the game was of Kenny Dalglish scoring a goal.
Who was your first Arsenal hero and why?
It has to be David Rocastle. His passion and love for the club shone through every time he played.
The goal he scored against Tottenham in the League Cup will live long in the memory. He embodied everything that was great about Arsenal.
I even wrote to George Graham telling him that ‘Rocky’ was my favourite player. He replied, telling me that he was a big part of his plans - and promptly sold him to Leeds. I was heartbroken.
I was driving when the Wright & Bright show was on one Saturday lunchtime as news came through that he had died at just 33. Wrighty was sobbing and so was I as the reality sunk in that such a lovely man, an Arsenal man, had died, way way way too young.
Who is your favourite ever Arsenal player and why?
There are SO many to choose from - Adams, Dixon, Wright, Smith, Henry…
I struggle to choose between three.
As a kid, with new-fangled satellite TV, I watched a lot of Dutch football and fell in love with Dennis Bergkamp. Inevitably he went to Italy, where all the best players went, and I lamented the fact that someone like him would never sign for Arsenal. The day he signed in 1995, I walked around in a daze, barely able to believe it. We just didn’t sign superstars like that in those days.
Secondly, Ian Wright was such a stunning player - heart on his sleeve, score goals out of nothing, a true fan as well as a superb striker, living the dream all of us wanted to follow.
It’s a shame Graham started playing more direct football having assembled a team of flair and style, which meant he had to do a lot more on his own than he might have done. I do wonder if we had kept Rocky, Michael Thomas and Anders Limpar, for instance, quite how many goals he would have scored.
And I wish he had stayed with us after 1998 because he still had something to offer and I hated seeing him in other clubs’ shirts.
The third is Patrick Vieira. I was fortunate enough to be at the game against Sheffield Wednesday when he made his debut and his standards rarely slipped below world class.
I have had the pleasure of meeting him a few times since and his love for Arsenal runs deep.
What is your biggest Arsenal regret/disappointment?
There are so many that I’ve had the displeasure to witness - from Luton snatching victory from us in the League Cup final when we could have gone 3-1 up…to Nayim in the CWC final… to Bergkamp’s missed penalty in 1999 (he never looked confident) that ultimately cost us a lot more than just the semi-final.
But Paris in 2006 hurts the most. I don’t think I truly believed we would beat Barcelona, and the rash red card to Jens Lehmann (which the referee later said he regretted) meant we were always up against it.
When Henry missed that one-on-one I had a real sense that it was a turning point but to get so close to winning and then lose in a competition we have never won still pains me to this day.
What is your favourite Arsenal memory and why?
It has to be the last match at Highbury.
It was a glorious day, Henry scored a hat-trick and the fact that we pipped T*tt*nh*m to fourth after Lasagna-gate made it the perfect occasion.
I stood on the North Bank until well after the celebrations had ended taking in the atmosphere as I said a fond farewell to our great old stadium.
Away from the pitch, my football-hating wife arranged for Frank McLintock to come to our wedding and when he walked in, you could have knocked me down with a feather. He stayed for the rest of the evening and even arranged for a letter from Arsene Wenger wishing us well, which takes pride of place in my home.
What is your favourite ever Arsenal match?
I still get goosebumps and shed a tear whenever I see highlights of the final game of the 1988/89 season at Anfield.
We’d made such a mess of the previous few games, the defeat to Derby County and draw with Wimbledon, and it felt as if we had run out of gas just too early.
I couldn’t get a ticket so sat glued with my father, by then an avid fan, and kicked every ball throughout the game.
It was as if time stood still as Michael Thomas went through to score and that feeling of having won the title for the first time in my lifetime is something I’ll never forget.
I suspect that nothing will ever top that moment for me in sport or beyond.