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Camden Sports - STEVE BARNETT
Published: 8 January 2009

Panayiotis Charalambous and Robin van Persie

Van’s man: Junior Gunner’s magical day as a mascot at the Emirates

JUNIOR Gunner Panayiotis Charalambous raced back to school this week to tell all his friends about his memorable Christmas holidays.
The lucky 11-year-old, who lives in Islington, was chosen at random to be Arsenal’s mascot for their Premier League clash against Liverpool last month.
Panayiotis was delighted with the chance-of-a-lifetime opportunity to meet his heroes, bagging not only the players’ autographs but also a brand new Arsenal kit.
Afterwards the St Mary Magdalene School pupil, who posed with Robin van Persie before the game, said; “I can’t believe I was chosen. There are thousands of kids who are Junior Gunners.
“It was a dream come true to be the club’s mascot. I had such a great time and it was awesome to meet all my favourite players.”
Manager of the Junior Gunners, Sue Campbell, said: “We were delighted to offer Panayiotis the chance to be our mascot for the Liverpool game.
“This is one of the many occasions throughout the year where our Junior Gunners get the opportunity to meet their heroes, and it is always a memorable day.”
Star striker van Persie, who scored twice on Saturday as Arsenal beat Plymouth in the third round of the FA Cup, added: “It was great to meet Panayiotis at the Emirates Stadium for the game against Liverpool.
“We all hope that he had a great day out and enjoyed all the action.”
Panayiotis watched as van Persie scored arguably his best-ever goal at the Emirates Stadium as the Gunners drew 1-1 with Liverpool.
Receiving a high ball from Samir Nasri with his back to goal, the 25-year-old controlled and swivelled with one touch before lashing an unstoppable effort past Pepe Reina at the near post.
It was a goal that helped the Dutchman clinch his second consecutive Arsenal Player-of-the-Month Award.

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