I’M REALLY looking forward to Arsenal’s first home game of the season this weekend. 

Of course it’s because of the apparent resurgence of the Gunners under Mikel Arteta. And the fact that the squad is once again populated by hungry youngsters and exacting elders, with the prospect of an exciting campaign ahead. 

Which is great, even for a curmudgeon such as myself, because Arteta has done a remarkable job in turning around a previously moribund squad full of has-beens and never will bes, along with turfing out those individuals too lazy to care, full of toxic self-entitlement or both. 

And he’s done it with humility and passion, and judging by All or Nothing, a helping of rare eccentricity – all of which I approve. (More of that next week).

However, it runs much deeper than that. 

Not least because the return of home matches signals the reinstatement of those cherished and revered rhythms we all associate with our regular trips to cheer on our team, whoever it may be. 

We can all relate to the delicious anticipation of revisiting our sacred rituals, as well as setting foot in much-loved places that we hold dear while catching up with old football friends. 

Pals you regularly share such intense moments with – good and bad – for nine months of the year, but rarely see during the summer. 

I’m sure you’ll no doubt be looking forward to once again dropping by your favourite cafe for a restorative pre-match breakfast, lunch or dinner – depending on the particular time uncaring TV companies have moved your first or early home games to. 

Or perhaps, like me, you’ll be looking forward to buying your favourite bags of sweets from your favourite sweet stall. (Yellow bananas and white chocolate mice since you’re asking.) Which in my case, is near Arsenal Tube, in a heartening ritual I first experienced when my dad first used to take me in the early 1980s. In my case it now links three generations and will link many more hopefully.

I still go there now. I take my kids, my friends, my partner, work colleagues, mates from the pub – anyone and everyone really. 

It pleases me far more than it should that the bloke on the stall always recognises me and has a chat. 

It’s comforting and it’s reassuring. And it makes me smile, even now, four decades on from that first magical time. 

And, of course, many will also be eagerly awaiting an August trip to their preferred pre (and post) match local. 

Before I was fortunate enough to cover games in the press box, my pre-match pub of choice always used to be the Highbury Barn Tavern – even when the loos used to leak, and the contents would flood down the stairs. 

Times have changed of course, and it’s now a busy gastropub, but one full of loyal, old school Gooners including a large group of my mates on matchdays – as it will against Leicester this weekend.

My post-match pubs have changed over the years, with the favourite now being the Swimmers on Grafton. 

Rumour has it the current Labour leader, and Arsenal fan, drinks in there from time to time. But I haven’t seen him there yet. And I think I’d much rather want to have a beer with the previous Labour leader and Arsenal fan anyway. 

The proviso being that these pubs are still open and serving punters in such challenging times, that is, of course.

Or, in the case of The Tollington on the Hornsey Road, if the fat cats at Thames Water can be bothered to spend a fraction of their dividends and bonuses on repairing the infrastructure that caused hundreds of thousands of gallons of water to leak this week in and around the popular Arsenal pub. 

They’d better do, as I’m supposed to be selling the Gooner Fanzine next to the Arches on Hornsey Road, which has become my regular spot, complete with a sea of regular faces, since the pandemic. 

On Satuday, I’ll also be looking forward to selling the latest issue of The Gooner before the game. 

People have been buying this independent publication since it started in 1987. To think we’re coming up to issue 300 of this labour of love this season astounds me. 

Issue 295 hits the streets Saturday after weeks of late nights and even later nights fretting we wouldn’t make deadline. 

We did of course, thanks to all our fantastic team who help make this long-standing labour of love worth all the pain – meaning all our loyal subscribers should be receiving their copies before, or shortly after Arsenal vs Leicester this weekend. 

I might be lucky enough to be editor, but I am only a custodian of this fine institution. 

In what has become another pre-match ritual for me – and, I believe, many others – people will stop and buy a copy and have a chat with me about our club, our team, football, sport and so much more. Such is the goodwill towards the Gooner and our team of writers, the whole experience is life-affirming. 

I’m humbled to feel the love from generations of Arsenal supporters. People who consider the buying the Gooner as much a ritual as buying a bag of sweets. It means so much to me it makes my throat catch at times. 

No wonder I’m really looking forward to Arsenal’s first home game of the season this weekend. 

So, whoever your team is, enjoy your day. I know I will. I can’t wait.