Arsenal in the Community partner Islington Foodbank

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Arsenal are set to announce that they are helping Islington Foodbank in an attempt to combat poverty and hunger in the Borough.

At the next home fixture against Crystal Palace there will be two donation collection points – one at podium level outside the Arsenal Museum and the other outside the Community Hub.

We are encouraging everyone to get involved and donate to the local community, whether that be by dropping off some food on game day, or making a small donation to the cause.

Islington Foodbank urgently require:

  • TINNED TOMATOES
  • LONG LIFE FRUIT JUICE
  • CEREAL
  • TINNED FRUIT
  • TINNED RICE PUDDING
  • CHOCOLATE BARS
  • LONG LIFE MILK
  • INSTANT COFFEE
  • SPONGE PUDDINGS
  • PASTA SAUCE
  • TINNED MEAT
  • TINNED FISH
  • LONG GRAIN RICE
  • TINNED SOUP

if you are not going to the game, or unable to bring a donation, you can make a cash donation via the website.

Like much of London, Islington has two sides.

Many people think it of a rich, affluent borough. One which contains the likes of Highgate, Cannonbury Square and Clerkenwell. Numerous politicians, actors and musicians call it their home.

But in the Borough you go from houses worth over a million pound on one side of the street to extreme poverty on the other side. Islington is a borough where 1 in 124 people are either homeless or living in temporary accommodation.

You only have to walk around the Kings Cross area at any time during the day to see the homelessness.

Islington Foodbank is run entirely by over 100 volunteers, who do everything from managing stock in the warehouse, preparing bags for our clients, and organising supermarket drives, to meeting our clients to give them their food and talk through the difficulties they’re facing.

It was established by a group of volunteers in 2011 as part of The Trussell Trust network of foodbanks and operates from Highbury Roundhouse on Ronalds Road. It is open twice a week on Mondays and Saturdays from 1pm – 4pm.

The aim is to provide people who find themselves in a crisis with 3 days’ worth of emergency food, so the focus is on collecting donations to meet the demand in Islington.

It is fantastic that Arsenal in the Community have decided to partner Islington Foodbank, continuing their long term pledge to help charities and residents of the local area.

Also at the Crystal Palace, fans of both sides will be walking from Selhurst Park to the Emirates to raise awareness of mental health and male suicide.

SheWore

Emile Smith Rowe to remain at RB Leipzig next season

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At the end of the January transfer window, Arsenal youngster Emile Smith Rowe joined German Bundesliga outfit RP Leipzig on loan for the rest of the season.

It was reported after the loan deal went through that Smith Rowe was suffering from a groin injury and it was unlikely that he would restart full training until March.

At the time I found it odd that Arsenal had sent an injured player out on loan to gain first team experience. He picked up the groin strain whilst training with Arsenal in December.

Smith Rowe’s recovery has been slower than expected and it was only this week that he finally returned to full team training.

With just 7 Bundesliga game left to play, it would be surprising if 18-year-old Smith Rowe sees much game time with Champions League chasing RP Leipzig, who currently sit 3rd.

Recently Smith Rowe sat down with Arsenal’s official YouTube channel to discuss his experience so far in Germany.

“The Bundesliga is a really good league,” Smith Rowe told Arsenal’s official YouTube channel. “There are a lot of good players here and big teams as well. It’s like the Premier League really. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig, Hoffenheim, Schalke – all big teams, all Champions League teams really. I think it’s a great opportunity.”

“I can’t wait to play in front of the fans,” he admitted. “I think it will be really good. Obviously the stadium is really big and it’s a great atmosphere. When I first went to one of the games, the fans were just always singing. Obviously that happens at Arsenal as well, but over here it’s just crazy.”

“I think it’s definitely a big step at such a young age, but I think that’s a great experience,” he explained. “Seeing Reiss and other young players take the step, obviously doing well and enjoying themselves, that has really boosted my confidence.

“It really gave me the impression that this was something I wanted to do and I obviously took the risk. I just can’t wait to get fit and play.”

As it stands, it feels like sending Smith Rowe abroad has been a big waste of time. That the only thing he would have gained is an experience of living abroad for 4 months, and that he will return with less than 100 Bundesliga minutes under his belt.

Whilst at Arsenal, he had played 6 games this season across the Europa League and League Cup; scoring 3 goals. He had also been on the bench for a handful of Premier League games. He was progressing well.

It is then very odd that Arsenal would agree sending him out on loan, knowing that he was injured and unlikely to play.

The logical conclusion is that Arsenal plan to leave Smite Rowe at RB Leipzig next season as well.

The club knew he was out injured, and would unlikely feature for Arsenal in the run in – especially following the signing of Denis Suarez. So  a decision was made to send him to Germany early to allow him to acclimatise.

Whilst he has not played for RB Leipzig as of yet, he has spent every day at their training facility, under the eyes of their coaches, living in Germany.

It would mean that were he to go on loan next season to Leipzig, he would not need a couple of months acclimatising. He could do a full pre-season for them, and be ready to joining their 1st team squad for the first game of the season.

A full year playing week in week out in a top league will do wonders for the playmaker, and it makes sense for him to spend next season in Germany.

If he is going to be at Leipzig next season, it then makes sense that he joined in January despite it being unlikely that he will play.

Many at Arsenal see him as a long term replacement for Aaron Ramsey in the squad. Next season will be a year too early for him. But in 2020 he would return to the club with a full Bundesliga season under his belt and having only just turned 20.

 

Keenos

Arsenal Amputees “become invincible”

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Arsenal Amputees recently competed in the annual EAFA (English Amputee Football Association) League Cup Finals, which was held in Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham.

Unbeaten in all eight of their fixtures, they finished top of the table on 20 points to be crowned champions.

Amongst the other teams were two of the favourites in Man City & Everton, who both bought strong teams to take the trophy.

Arsenal Amps started off slowly with draws against Newcastle then Manchester City. The 3rd game was against a very dangerous Everton side.

The match started very fast but teams were at deadlock until the dying minutes when Arsenal scored to win the game 1-0..

With their confidence high, the Arsenal really started to shine and won their next 5 games against Partick Thistle, Portsmouth, Peterborough United, WBA & Brighton.

Arsenal sealed the trophy with a game to spare to claim their first ever EAFA trophy.

6 wins from 8, 0 defeats and not a single goal conceded. They were followed closely by Manchester City FC Amputees and Everton FC Amputees.

Regular She Wore a Yellow Ribbon contributor Peter Monk was part of the successful trophy winning side.

At 54-years-old, Monk was the oldest player in the competition and scored in the 2-0 victory over Partick Thistle.

“It was great” Monk said after the game “I felt proud to be part of this Arsenal Amputee football team, the boys played fantastic, and to win is unbelievable against strong opposition, here’s to the future of Arsenal Amputee”.

On the day there were over 90 amputee footballers who represented their respective clubs, with an age-range of 30-years from the youngest to the oldest players.

“It was a great day to be involved in – the England Amputee FA did a great job of bringing it all together,” commented Arsenal in the Community coach Dan Openshaw.

“To be a part of it was great and, of course, to win and be unbeaten throughout all eight games really topped it off for us.

“The guys have shown great commitment to our sessions and to developing the team that we have here, so they deserve nothing less. Hopefully there will be plenty more days like this in the future.”

Arsenal’s side also included Tony Mills and Helder Silva, who represented England at the recent amputee World Cup. Their places in the squad were supported by The Arsenal Foundation.

Arsenal Amputees train at The Arsenal Community Hub. For more information on the Arsenal Amputee Football programme, contact Luke Howard, Arsenal in the Communities Disability Officer: lhoward@arsenal.co.uk

SheWore