Arsenal captain Thierry Henry introducing his team-mates to the Queen. Photo / Twitter
Former Arsenal players have been reminiscing about a special meeting with Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.
Following the north London club's move from Highbury to Emirates Stadium in 2006, the Queen was anticipated to cut the ribbon to officially open the new ground – but she reportedly hurt her back and could not attend.
Her Majesty, apparently disappointed to miss the opening ceremony, in turn invited the Arsenal squad for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace in 2007.
Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Eboue were among the Arsenal stars in attendance and both have shared their fond memories of the meeting.
Walcott, who scored 108 goals for the Gunners, retweeted a video of the royal encounter with the caption: "Lovely memory this …"
And in an interview with the Telegraph in 2016, Eboue recalled how he had made the Queen laugh on that memorable day.
"We went there and Thierry Henry said to me: 'Please, Emmanuel, it's the Queen's house, don't do anything.'
" 'No problem,' I said, 'Don't worry'. So the Queen came in and went along shaking each player's hand.
"After she'd finished, I saw all her corgis so I said, 'Ma'am, Ma'am'.
"She turned back and asked, 'How are you?'
"I said, 'Ma'am, I am okay thank you, but please, I don't want to be a footballer any more, I want to look after your dogs. I want to take them for walks, wash them, feed them. I want to be a dog carer.'
"The Queen, honestly, she was laughing. Prince Philip was laughing too. All the team were laughing!"
Thierry Henry, the club captain at the time, said there were no words to describe the experience of meeting the monarchy and visiting her house.
"She knew that we won the game, I didn't ask her if she actually watched the game," Henry said.
"You kind of try to not put in your head who you have in front of you and I guess it went really nice."
The Queen was gifted the Arsenal club emblem – a cannon – at the end of the video.
"It's not to incite you to make war," then-manager Arsene Wenger jokes.
News broke of Queen Elizabeth's death during Arsenal's Europa League match against Zurich. The start of the second half was delayed as a result, and a minute's silence was observed as the players returned to the field before the game resumed.
The Queen was an Arsenal fan, according to former Arsenal and Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas.
"It seems the Queen follows football and she told us she was an Arsenal fan," he told Spanish radio.
"She appeared to definitely know who I was and we exchanged a few special words."
A royal source was also quoted in the Evening Standard backing up this claim.
"Her Majesty has been fond of Arsenal for over 50 years," they said.
"Her late mother was a self-confessed Gooner, due largely to her admiration of their former player Denis Compton."
The first football match the Queen attended was the 1953 FA Cup final, which was contested between Blackpool and Bolton Wanderers.
The English Premier League have paid tribute to the late Queen and decided to postpone this weekend's matches as a "mark of respect".
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