GRANDMAESTA_30
patreon
Chapter 179: Not Too Old To Be A Fan
🕑 Added 2025-10-07 16:42:56 +0000 UTCLondon, 3:00 p.m. — in a quiet corner of North London.
Inside a small, old-fashioned barbershop, the familiar hum of electric clippers filled the air.
Mr. Wilson, a grey-haired man in his late sixties, was giving what he called his final trim of the day.
“You’re the last one, lad,” he said cheerfully, hands moving with the rhythm of long habit.
The customer raised an eyebrow. “Last one? You usually close around five, don’t you?”
Mr. Wilson grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “Not today. I’ve got plans, son. I’m going to the Emirates Stadium!”
The customer twisted around in the chair, surprised. “The Emirates? Wait—Lory agreed to that?”
The barber’s smile froze instantly.
“You can’t tell him!” he hissed. “If my boy finds out, he’ll lock me in the house. Says my heart can’t handle excitement anymore.”
The customer chuckled. “He’s just worried about you, you know. What if something happens to you while you’re shouting in the stands? You’re not twenty anymore.”
“Ah, shut your cursed mouth!” Mr. Wilson barked.
The customer quickly zipped his lips—but it was too late.
Startled, Mr. Wilson’s hand jerked, and the clipper carved a neat bald line straight through the back of the man’s hair.
The customer stared at him in disbelief.
Mr. Wilson sighed. “Well… that’s your fault! Shouldn’t have jinxed me.”
A few minutes later, the haircut was done—bald was might. Mr. Wilson brushed off the hair clippings, collected his payment, and watched his final customer leave.
As the doorbell chimed and silence returned to the shop, he locked the front door, drew the blinds halfway down, and headed to the small storeroom at the back.
There, hidden behind a stack of dusty boxes, sat an old brown leather suitcase. The kind that had seen better days.
He dragged it out, sneezing as he brushed off the dust. Then he unclasped the locks and lifted the lid gently.
Inside lay a folded Arsenal jersey—faded red, baggy, with age-yellowed sleeves—and an old photograph.
The number 10 was stitched on the back, with Bergkamp printed above it.
Mr. Wilson ran his fingers over the name, his expression softening.
It wasn’t just a collector’s item—it was a memory.
He picked up the photo beside it: a much younger Mr. Wilson, proudly holding his scissors beside a smiling Dennis Bergkamp in the old Highbury dressing room.
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “Aye… I actually cut his hair once. Just once. But it still counts.”
For a while, he sat there in silence, lost in the glow of nostalgia. Then, with a deep sigh, he carefully refolded the jersey and placed it back in the case.
But this time, he pulled something new out.
A pristine, modern Arsenal home shirt—the player version. On the back, in bold white letters: 4 — Kai.
Mr. Wilson slipped off his coat and tugged the jersey on over his shirt. He looked at himself in the mirror on the storeroom wall, tugged the hem flat, and smiled with quiet satisfaction.
“Still got it,” he muttered proudly.
It had been seven long years since he last went to a live Arsenal match.
Part of that was because of the heartbreak in the Champions League final—the night he swore he’d never watch another match from the stands again.
And part of it was his health. The heart issues, the fatigue. His family—especially his son, Lory—had banned him from live games entirely. They said it was too risky.
But how could he stay away now?
This Arsenal—Kai’s Arsenal—was different. The energy, the spirit, the fight. It was like the old days again, and every old Gunner in North London could feel it in their bones.
So, tonight, they were defying time, doctors, and their own children.
The old guard was returning to the stands.
For many of them, it would be their first time setting foot in the Emirates. When the stadium opened back in 2006, they had already stopped attending games. Their Arsenal lived at Highbury, in memory and in spirit.
But today, they were coming home again—just to see this new generation carry the torch.
Mr. Wilson glanced once more at the mirror. The red shirt gleamed bright under the weak afternoon light. He chuckled. “Those old blokes will be wearing their baggy retro kits again. Guess I’ll be the sharp one this time.”
...
An hour later — outside the Emirates Stadium.
Crowds of red-and-white were streaming in from every direction. The air was filled with the hum of excitement, street vendors shouting, and fans chanting “Come on, you Gunners!”
Among them stood a small group of elderly men, leaning on canes and clutching scarves that had seen decades of football history.
“Hey, take a look at this beauty!” one of them shouted, pointing proudly at his shirt. “Signed by Suárez himself—got it last year!”
Another laughed, showing off his own. “You think that’s something? This one’s Cazorla’s last home version. Proper kit, that.”
Then a third, with a cheeky grin, pulled at his sleeve.
“And this,” he announced dramatically, “is Kai’s first limited edition. Only a hundred of these were ever made.”
But the biggest boast came from our Billy, who was accompanying these old gentlemen.
“Forget all that!” he bellowed. “See this stain here? That’s blood, lads! Kai’s blood—from the match against United last season! ”
The group fell silent.
For a brief moment, Billy basked in their shocked expressions—until one of the others exploded.
“You what? You wore it? You absolute fool! That’s a relic—you should’ve framed it!”
“Yeah, you donkey!” another shouted. “You’re supposed to treasure it, not sweat all over it!”
“Fake fan! The only good thing you did was make your boy an Arsenal man!”
Billy threw his hands up defensively as the argument spiraled into laughter, curses, and teasing jabs.
Meanwhile, Mr. Wilson stood a few steps back, adjusting his scarf and glancing down at his own brand-new shirt.
He chuckled softly to himself. “Ah… my jersey looks a bit tame now, doesn’t it?”
The old men laughed together as the roar from the stadium grew louder in the distance. For a moment, they weren’t fragile or old. They were young again—fans who had lived and breathed Arsenal through heartbreak and glory alike.
