Arsenal stars and fans were caught by surprise after the club’s North London Forever anthem was mistakenly played moments into Remembrance silence before their Women’s Super League match with Aston Villa.
Arsenal and Aston Villa had joined the WSL sides paying tribute to the Armed Forces community, past and present, with the fixture having been the Gunners’ last women’s match at the Emirates before Remembrance Day on November 11.
Players from both sides had gathered by the centre circle, with the stadium announcer then heard requesting fans join in with ‘a moment of silence as a mark of respect’.
The silence, however, was unfortunately interrupted when their pre-match anthem The Angel – more commonly known as North London Forever – began playing around the stadium.
Arsenal players, who had bowed their heads for the minute’s silence, could be seen quizzically looking at their team-mates as the anthem played.
Players eventually broke away from the centre circle as the anthem continued to play.
Arsenal players lined up for a Remembrance silence, but were visibly surprised when the club’s North London Forever anthem played shortly after it began. Source: TikTok – Jodie-woso
Fans commented that they were left confused by the unfortunate interruption to the silence
Shirts from the match, featuring the poppy, are being auctioned in aid of the Royal British Legion
The unfortunate moment also caught out fans both in the stadium and watching on television.
‘Very disappointed with the apparent mixup with playing north London forever during moment of remembrance, if it was indeed a mistake. All got a bit confusing. Crowd certainly looked confused anyway,’ one fan commented.
‘Well I’m not convinced North London Forever was supposed to start playing then but okay,’ another posted.
‘I was watching on tv and I was incredibly confused when NLF started playing, and too make matters worse people were actually singing along,’ a third said.
‘I was also confused looking around I didn’t know if to sing so I didn’t,’ added another.
‘As bad as it was, as mentioned it wasn’t going to be a full minutes silence. Also NLF is pre-programmed to play a minute before kick off. Awkward more than anything,’ another fan said.
Daily Mail Sport has approached Arsenal for a comment.
The Gunners shared an image of their players lining up for the tribute on social media, writing ‘We will remember them.’
Arsenal are also among the clubs to have been supporting the Royal British Legion’s Poppy Appeal, which has seen poppies woven into their match shirts.
Match shirts are being auctioned on the MatchWornShirt website and app, with net proceeds going directly to the Royal British Legion to support their work with military service members, veterans and their families.
Shirts from Arsenal’s WSL fixture against Aston Villa and their Premier League tie at Anfield, which also took place on Sunday, are among the items on auction.
