Who’s gonna run this town tonight?*

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* Yes, this is a shout-out to our recently departed midfield maestro, The Martin. (Check the guest appearance.)

As you now know, a few of us will be taking over the Arsenal Offside page, so some introductions are in order. I’m looking forward to working with Homey (see his excellent first piece on Nasri), Darren V and JG on this, and I think Homey’s prepping an intro post for all of us, but seeing as I just finished a contract and have a few days free, I thought I’d come on and tell you all a little bit about myself while he gets that sorted. Here’s what I wrote when I started on the Vancouver page last year, and most of it still holds true:

I’m a Vancouver Whitecaps season ticket holder, but I’ve missed a few home games. I can’t claim to any longstanding fan-ness, as I only started following the Caps a few (five) years ago, but I’ve got dibs on two season tickets for our inaugural MLS season next year. [EDIT: This year. Playing in the MLS is awesome. See my latest posts on the Vancouver page.]

I’m an Arsenal fan, and read Martin’s Arsenal page religiously. I hope to write as well as he does about a team I love. I also (shhh) have a thing for Barcelona FC, dating back to Ronaldinho’s time with the club, the brief Thierry Henry spell, and a general love of the city. This Arsenal-Barcelona thing hasn’t treated me well, starting with the Champions League final in 2006, and currently with the whole Cesc Fabregas transfer fiasco (keep your stinking Catalan hands off!). [EDIT: Nothing's changed there, desunfortunado]

When Canada isn’t competing I cheer for Spain (and have been since before the Euro win in 2008, thank you very much). When Canada is competing I’m usually holding my head in dismay. (I’ll be writing for the neglected Canada page soon, too… *sigh*…) [EDIT: I never did, as I didn't have enough time]

I haven’t played competitively in a few years, as I get a little too worked up on the pitch, as some friends will no doubt attest to. There’s a great pick-up game across the street from my house in East Vancouver, which feeds my need to play. [EDIT: I now play seven-a-side on turf in a rec league, which is fun but hard on my body.]

East Van pride. Word.

I’ve been accused in these comment sections of being a glory-hunter because I live in Canada, have never seen the Arsenal play, and enjoy cheering for other teams. So it goes. We all come to this from different backgrounds. And hopefully we all get along despite our various differences. What we have in common is our love for Arsenal.

Recently the New York Red Bulls played in Vancouver. Unfortunately for me (but fortunately for the Whitecaps), Thierry Henry didn’t make the trip due to injury. One of my goals in life is to see him play live, in person, so I’m thinking about making the trip to New York this summer for our away match. Here, though, is one of my favourite goals, by the best player to ever lace up boots for Arsenal:

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See you all soon enough.

Cheers,
Brenton

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Category: Hello, Introductions