Arsenal Legend 5 - Charlie George

[Aussie]

It was better than sex. That is how Charlie George described the feeling of having his name chanted by the famous North Bank at Highbury. Charlie had his mates and family on the terrace watching him play and it gave him a buzz that was simply indescribable. He himself previously had stood on the North Bank with his mates supporting The Arsenal. However then Charlie was just another face in the crowd, just another lad. However as it turned out he was the one who lived everyone’s dream of making the fabled move from the terrace to the pitch.

He didn’t earn $80,000 a week, wasn’t sponsored by a car company and he certainly didn’t model underwear. He played when footballers were footballers and when footballers were characters and Charlie was perhaps the greatest of them all.

Charlie George grew up loving Arsenal and little did he know that he would one day become the King of Highbury. He first trained with the club when he was just 11 years old and gradually made his way up through the youth ranks at Arsenal. Even at a young age Charlie had the confidence and had no problem fitting in with things at Arsenal. If he didn’t like someone he’d let them know that’s what made his so special, he didn’t care and did what he wanted.

Could play midfield or upfront, it really didn’t bother him but then again not much bothered Charlie George. Just give me the ball and ill do the work he would say. He wasn’t a great goal scorer but a scorer of great goals and even better celebrations. He’d been the fan, he knew what it was like and liked to give a bit back to the fans. Charlie George was the darling of the North Bank he was the man that every Gooner wanted to be.

Charlie’s dedication to the Arsenal can not be questioned either when he was just another fan on the North Bank or when he was wearing the Red and White. Can you imagine one of the current reserve players faking a illness so he could go travel down to watch a FA Cup tie? Well that’s what a young Charlie George did. He pretended to be ill so he could secretly travel down to Bristol to watch the first team in a FA Cup tie.

Certain moments in football that just stand out above the rest. The 111th minute of the 1971 FA Cup Final is one of those. The final was far from a amazing spectacle but the finish was certainly one of the truly great moments in world football and it summed everything up that is beautiful about our great game. Arsenal had pulled themselves back through a rather lucky Eddie Kelly goal that George Graham claimed after going a goal down in extra time. The scene was set for someone to make themselves the hero. People behind the goal that day claim it was the best moment of there lives. Its easy to see why.

Charlie George the young long haired Islington lad picked it up about 25 yards out from goal. Its one all in the second half of extra time. Charlie always had the ability to hit one and despite near exhaustion he managed to hit this one from 25 yards. Hit it he did and a absolute rocket of shot that flew into the goals. Charlie George just won Arsenal the double. Equally remarkable was George sorry, King George’s celebration. Lying down on the Wembley turf with his hands raised towards the sky with a look on his face that said how f****g good am I. It is one of the most enduring images in world football and to this day he still gets people coming up to him and lying on the ground just like he did in 71. Quite a few Everton fans as well! However he did confess the celebration was more to do with the fact that he was absolutely knackered after 111 minutes of grueling football on a hot day. It was a Hollywood like script. The Local lad wins the double for his team. It couldn’t get any better.

The 1971 Fa Cup was Charlie’s in more ways than way one. He broke his ankle very early on in the 71 season and missed a lot of the league season however he was to make the FA Cup competition his. It was the big occasion that Charlie thrived on and with every round his reputation grew. Eight games in the cup and a very nice return of 5 goals and also one shocking back pass! Not just ordinary goals either. One’s from the top shelf. That was what Charlie was about.

Charlie George was unique, did what he wanted. Off the terrace and on to the pitch with a cockiness that the Arsenal fans loved. Charlie George was good and he knew it. Its now 34 years since Charlie struck the strike that won Arsenal the double. Despite it being 30 years since his glory days at Arsenal the blood of Arsenal still runs through his veins faster than ever. He has now returned to the club that he should have never left and is running Legends tours of Highbury where his passion for the Arsenal is clear to see. He still attends the majority of Arsenal games, both home and way. He began life standing on the North Bank supporting the Arsenal and now again he lives to watch Arsenal.

Charlie George Arsenal Legend.