Arsenal fan Jack Whitehall was a total fanboy when he met Arsene Wenger at the charity match Game 4 Ukraine.
The likes of Gianfranco Zola, Jack Wilshere and Petr Cech all laced up their boots and walked out at Chelsea's Stamford Bridge hand-in-hand with Ukrainian school children.
The high-profile match took place to rebuild a school in Chernihiv, which was all but destroyed by Russian strikes at the start of the war.
Captaining one of the teams was Arsenal’s Oleksandr Zinchenko, who said the gathering sent "a powerful message to the rest of the world that we stick together".
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Alongside captain of the Blues, former Chelsea star Andriy Shevchenko, Zinchenko recently returned to Ukraine to see the damage to the Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky Lyceum for themselves.
Moreover, managing the sides were Emma Hayes and Wenger, with the latter on the receiving end of comedian and Arsenal fan Whitehall’s fanboying.
Whitehall was presenting Sky Sports’ coverage of the encounter, which ended 2-2. And the Gooner could barely contain his excitement when speaking to Wenger.
Welcoming his guests, Whitehall said: “Now I am joined by today’s managers. In charge of Team Shevchenko is the boss of Chelsea women Emma Hayes, and managing Team Zinchenko is someone who is responsible for giving me some of the best moments of my life, Mr Arsene Wenger.”
With his voice nervously croaking, the 35-year-old continued: “Welcome to the studio. Hi Arsene.
“So Arsene - it’s so hard with you looking at me - um… this is an amazing day and there’s some of the old gang back together. You’re managing a few of the Arsenal boys.”
The stand-up comedian later said on Twitter, when referencing the interaction: “At least I played that cool.”
Wenger is the longest-serving and most successful manager in Arsenal’s history.
His contribution to English football through scouting, players’ training and diet regimes transformed the game. He claimed three Premier Leagues and seven FA Cups between 1996 and 2018.
Topics: Football, Arsenal, Arsene Wenger
Chris Byfield