Former Bournemouth striker Dominic Solanke completed a move to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, joining in a deal worth up to £65m on a deal lasting until 2030.
But before he played for Spurs or Bournemouth, Solanke used to follow his current club’s rivals Arsenal.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Sport earlier this year, Solanke revealed his previous affiliation with the Gunners.
“[My first football shirt] would have probably been Arsenal,” Solanke admitted. “My dad was an Arsenal fan, so I used to follow them. I went to a few Emirates Cups back in the day.”
As for why Solanke isn’t an Arsenal fan anymore, he admitted it’s difficult to support a team when you’re playing matches against them.
“When you’re young, you love watching football. When you actually grow up and you start playing against teams I think it’s a bit hard to support a team, you know?” Solanke explained.
Despite spending all-but-one year of his career in England, playing for Chelsea, Liverpool, and Bournemouth, Solanke doesn’t have a long history of matches against Arsenal.
The striker never made it onto the pitch for Liverpool or Chelsea against the Gunners, so he had to wait for the 2019/20 season to get a game with Bournemouth.
In his five starts since then, Solanke has a 100% losing record, with no goals or assists. He’ll want to change that in a Spurs shirt if he’s going to win over their fans.