No time to monkey around

On paper, Everton FC is an unlikely bogey team for Arsenal. Especially given they’ve finished near the bottom of the table the past two years, narrowly escaping relegation last season. And yet, the Gunners have struggled against the Toffees, winning just two of their last 11 Premier League visits to Goodison Park (W2 D3 L6) and none of the last five (W0 D1 L4).

Now would be a great time for Arsenal to get that monkey off their back. Maybe the stage is set for a Kai Havertz breakout match. The only penalty the midfielder has ever scored in the Premier League came against Everton. How’s that for some random trivia and clutching at straws.

Here’s hoping the squad won’t be suffering too much of a lag from the dreaded international break. We got a bit of good news this week. After initially picking up a knock playing for Brazil, defender, Gabriel Magalhaes is fit and ready to play.

Personally I hate the international breaks and am always relieved Arsenal’s players return intact. At press time, I’ve not heard about any other significant injuries. The main thing, is we’re back at Maggie’s this weekend for another match!

Let us know on our Facebook page if you’re coming!

The previous get-together for United was a joyful raucous affair. Here’s hoping we get a similar turnout. There will be BAG scarves and t-shirts for sale Sunday, and hopefully I will see you there!

Best,

Mark

Warm impermanence

Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher (and rumored substitute left back), once said, Change is the only constant. I’m more of a Bowie guy myself, but as the transfer window closes, Gooners are left to contemplate a number of changes.

Left back, Kieran Tierney is headed to Real Sociedad, on a season-long loan. Despite the “loan” tag, it’s hard to imagine him in an Arsenal kit again. I loved his spirit playing for us, short sleeves in frigid weather, bombing down the side with reckless abandon, and an occasional stellar strike. But his time was marred by injuries and he no long seems to fit in Arteta’s plan.

Folarin Balogun is a bigger mystery. Hard not to feel we never got to see what he could do in an Arsenal shirt. He made few first team appearances, spending most of his time on loan, where he lit up the French Ligue 1 for 21 goals. When he chose to play for the United States national team, it seemed we might finally get an American Arsenal star. But now he’s headed to Monaco and we’re left to wonder, what might have been.

Man Utd on Sunday!

Putting a frustrating Fulham draw (that felt like a loss) behind us, Arsenal host Manchester United this Sunday. Maggie’s will have the match inside and out. We’ll probably get a few Utd supporters in the pub. They’re a fair-weather bunch, but annoyingly, seem to show up whenever our clubs meet.

Let us know on our Facebook page if you’re coming!

BAG kit preorder ends tomorrow!

Preorders of our Bay Area Gooners’ Transatlantic Trip Kit end Friday, September 1st.

These will not be sold at the pub. Your only chance to get one is the Olive & York preorder.

Preorder yours here!

We will have BAG scarves and t-shirts for sale Sunday, so I hope to see you!

Best,

Mark

Take a chants on matchday

Our Bay Area Gooners off-season poll revealed a strong desire for more people joining the songs and chants at Maggie’s.

You may have hesitated because you don’t know the words, so here’s a few basics. I share these with the hope Maggie’s gets louder on match days. Note: Each chant/song mentioned includes a link to lyrics and a recorded version.

This first one is easy-peasy, as they say. After every Arsenal goal, we sing this ditty, Ooh to be a Gooner! Another frequent favorite is And it’s Arsenal. Other simple chants include Arsenal Til I Die and Who’s that Team We Call the Arsenal? The latter has an impolite reference to the opposition manager’s mother, and in recent years, we’ve amended that to be a bit less misogynistic, She’s a very nice lady.

There are numerous player songs. Saliba’s chant is hugely popular while Martin Ødegaard’s song takes a bit of soul to carry off. And let’s not forget the gaffer. Here’s We’ve Got Super Mik Arteta. There are plenty more where these came from, and Fan Chants has a pretty good selection of Arsenal chants, old and new.

Last but not least, the chorus of this little ditty, The Angel (North London Forever) by Louis Dunford, has become an anthem of sorts for Arsenal supporters near and wide. Here’s the verse you’re going to want to know:

North London forever
Whatever the weather
These streets are our own
And my heart will leave you never
My blood will forever
Run through the stone

One final song note. We never sing 1-nil to the Arsenal, out of respect for dearly departed Gooner bartender, Patrick Dunphy, which we covered recently here.

Fulham this Saturday!

Following a 4:30am season opener and a nerve-wracking Monday match, we get a weekend kickoff at a reasonably time.

Let us know on our Facebook page if you’re coming!

One week left to get your BAG kit!

You have one more week to get our new Bay Area Gooners’ Transatlantic Trip Kit. Designed by our own Holly Hickman, and inspired by the swirling fog and ocean currents enveloping the area and our city’s mind-expanding musical heritage.

Emblazoned with a numerical nod to our patch of 49 square miles, Arsenal’s Invincibles, and San Francisco’s own 49ers, and featuring the late Patrick Dunphy, on the sleeve. 

Not available at the pub, these are ONLY be available through preorder from Olive & York.

Preorder yours here!

I’m excited to get back to the pub Saturday. We’ll have BAG scarves and t-shirts for sale.

Best,

Mark

A choice kit

If I didn’t know better, I’d suspect Arsenal launched their 3rd third kit today in an attempt to overshadow our own kit launch. Sure, theirs is nice, but ours is 🔥. The choice is yours.

We’ve been able to create some great swag over the years, but this might be our most exciting yet. Today, the preorder window opens on the new Bay Area Gooners’

Transatlantic Trip Kit!

Designed by our own Holly Hickman, and inspired by the swirling fog and ocean currents enveloping the area and our city’s mind-expanding musical heritage.

Emblazoned with a numerical nod to our patch of 49 square miles, Arsenal’s Invincibles, and San Francisco’s own 49ers, and featuring the late Patrick Dunphy, on the sleeve. 

These will not be available at the pub. They will ONLY be available through preorder from Olive & York.

Preorder starts today here!

In less positive news, we’ve already lost new signing, Jurrien Timber to injury. And not to let all the new kits news overshadow that Arsenal have a match on Monday, and you can watch with us at Maggie’s.

Personally, I hate Monday matches, because it is unlikely I’ll get to the pub to watch with you. See you for the next weekend match.

Best,

Mark

Take a little trip kit

From the London fog to that of San Francisco, the Bay Area Gooners support the Arsenal over land and sea. We meet for Arsenal matches at Maggie McGarry’s Irish Pub in the city’s historic North Beach neighborhood.

Now we’re excited to announce the impending launch of our first ever Bay Area Gooners kit! Presenting the:

Transatlantic Trip Kit!

Holly Hickman’s design was inspired by the swirling fog and ocean currents enveloping the area and our city’s mind-expanding musical heritage. Holly’s designs include the Bay Area Gooner’s logo, website, scarves, t-shirts, and our banner hanging in the Emirates Stadium.

Emblazoned with a numerical nod to our patch of 49 square miles, Arsenal’s Invincibles, and San Francisco’s own 49ers. The kit also includes a tribute to Maggie’s dearly departed Gooner bartender, Patrick Dunphy, whose likeness is featured on the sleeve. 

These will not be available at the pub. They will ONLY be available through preorder from Olive & York. Preorder starts August 18th and ends September 1st. We will share the preorder link this Friday!

Best,

Mark

Let’s begin again Saturday

Begin the begin. Arsenal’s 2023/2024 Premiership season starts Saturday, and this will be our 17th year, watching the Gunners at Maggie McGarry’s. These are exciting times for Arsenal fans. Last season’s 2nd place finish, big off-season signings, and a Community Shield victory over Man City last week, has us brimming with optimism.

People always ask me, how do I join the Bay Area Gooners? The answer is always the same: 1. Support Arsenal. 2. Watch with us at Maggie’s. 3. Don’t be a d-ck. Thankfully, we don’t have issues with that last caveat, as most (all?) Gooners tend to be good people.

Besides congregating in the wee hours of the morning and watching footy, I try to steer our group towards good works. These efforts fell off a bit during the pandemic, but we held a successful fundraiser for Youth Speaks! last season and and our off-season poll suggests Gooners would like to do more.

We’ve already acted on suggested pre-season match viewings, which ended up being a lot of fun. Watch this space as we try to implement other poll results, such as getting more people involved in the Arsenal chants/songs.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page!

We will have BAG t-shirts and scarves back available, in time for our match against Fulham on August 26th (if not sooner). Next week, we’re announcing something very special across our social media platforms, you will not want to miss out on!

The season kicks off this Saturday with a dreaded 4:30am kickoff, but the pub will open for us, so set your alarms. Or maybe just don’t go to bed. As always, Maggie’s is 21+ only.

Hope to see you at the pub!

Best,

Mark

Community Shield Sunday!

Quick post reminding Gooners that we’ll be at Maggie McGarry’s this Sunday for the Community Shield match against Man City! There’s likely to be a small contingent of Citeh fans there and the Patrick Dunphy Memorial framed dollar bill is awarded to supporters of the winning side. Don’t forget – Maggie’s is 21+.

Let us know if you’ll make it on our the Bay Area Gooners Facebook page!

The season kicks off on August 12th with a 4:30 am kickoff. More on that and the upcoming season at Maggie’s next week.

Also, a heads up that The Athletic Club Oakland, the all-ages home of our East Bay Gooners offshoot is undergoing renovations and will be closed until September.

Hope to see you at the pub!

Best,

Mark

Coming to America

For many Gooners living in America, Arsenal coming over, is the first (for some, the only) opportunity to see their beloved English football side in person. Despite the somewhat inconsequential nature of these friendlies, the excitement is palatable amongst our crowd.

Parties Across America

First stop is the nation’s capital, with Arsenal playing the MLS All-Stars at the home of DC United and the Washington Spirit. The DC Armoury branch of Arsenal America has a number of events planned around the match.

Then it’s off to New York to face Manchester United. Arsenal New York in conjunction with Arsenal America are throwing a big block party the night before. All the details right here.

They’re also partnering with Metrograph to present a special 35mm showing of “Fever Pitch”, the film adaptation of Nick Horby’s classic Arsenal novel. Get your tickets here!

Finally, the Gunners hit the West Coast with a match in Los Angeles against a little known Spanish side, FC Barcelona. Arsenal Los Angeles has already announced a welcome party the weekend before the match. More L.A. events are expected.

Timber!

Today, Arsenal finally announced the signing of defender, Jurriën Timber! Now, it’s just a question of when the club will announce the much anticipated side dish of Rice.

Join us next Wednesday!

Bay Area Gooners not traveling to Washington DC, can join us at Maggie McGarry’s for the match! We’ll provide Golden Boy Pizza, so help us out and let us know if you’re coming. RSVP by claiming your free ticket here. Remember, Maggie’s is 21+.

Hope to see you at Maggie’s on July 19th. Please let us know if you’re coming.

Best,

Mark

Something in the air

Definitely something in the air. Stateside Gooners eagerly await Arsenal’s preseason visit to the United States, with stops in Washington DC, New York, and Los Angeles. Meanwhile, the club has not been idle. William Saliba and Reiss Nelson both signed new deals, and the mercurial but beloved Granit Xhaka is moving on.

The Gunners signed attacking midfielder, Kai Havertz and if the Twitter rumor mill is to be believed, the club will announce midfielder, Declan Rice and defender, Jurriën Timber, any day now.

All this is creating a lot of anticipation. Gooners who responded to our off-season poll, indicated a desire to gather before the season starts. The first of those opportunities will be Wednesday, July 19th, when Arsenal take on the MLS All-Stars in our nation’s capital. Bay Area Gooners not traveling east can join us at Maggie McGarry’s for the match

We’ll provide Golden Boy Pizza, so help us out and let us know if you’re coming. RSVP by claiming your free ticket here. Remember, Maggie’s is 21+.

If you’re traveling to New York for the July 22nd match against Manchester United, Arsenal FC, Arsenal America and Arsenal NYC are teaming up to host a pre-season party the day before. Here’s the skinny on that!

Over in the East Bay, our offshoot supporters group is solidifying and moving towards “official” status. If you live on that side of the bay and coming to Maggie’s isn’t viable, check them out.

Hope to see you at Maggie’s on July 19th. Please let us know if you’re coming.

Best,

Mark

What lies ahead

We’ve had a little time to reflect on the Arsenal season, but it’s already time to move on. Transfer window speculation has already hit peak insanity and the 2023-2024 season fixture list dropped yesterday.

Bay Area Gooners can now plan their life accordingly, beginning in August. The scheduling gods have cursed West Coast Arsenal fans for the first match of the season with a 4:30am kickoff but thankfully, many of the early matches are at reasonable times.

As exciting as the prospect of a new season is, there’s a lot of footy during in the off-season. Arsenal travel to the United States and there’s the Women’s World Cup. So in an attempt to garner opinions about off-season gatherings as well as other matters, our Off-Season Poll has been launched!

Hope you will take a moment to answer a few simple questions, and that I see you soon.

Best,

Mark