Arsenal superfan Arabella Mia, dubbed the club's biggest female fan, has revealed plans for a special return to Emirates Stadium this season. The Australian-based fan made headlines last year when she covered herself in a body-painted Arsenal home shirt after the Gunners won their first Premier League title in more than two decades.
A special surprise for fans
Arabella, who flew from Australia to celebrate the title win, told Daily Star Sport she intends to give something back to the Gunners faithful again. "I'm going to do something special when I get there…But I don't want to give it away!" she said.
"A couple of years ago, for Christmas, I sent about 200 people Arsenal shirts. So this year, I'm going to try and do something to give back to fans as I did then!"
Watching from Down Under
Arabella had wanted to attend the Premier League's opening match on Friday night but admitted it wouldn't be possible at such short notice. Instead, she has her sights set on catching Arsenal on the road: "I would like to see them maybe away because Coventry fans are so funny, and interviewing them would be so funny."
For now, she will watch the game in a bar, with supporters already trying to convince her to join them. "I got invited to a couple of pubs in Sydney, and there are a couple of them in Brisbane that show the Arsenal games at that time!"
Champions League ambitions
With Arsenal's kick-off scheduled for the early hours of the morning in Australia, Arabella will either set an early alarm or stay up all night. "It just depends on how I feel on the day…I'll either have a nap before or just go to sleep after."
Arabella expects nothing but a win on Friday evening but has her sights set further than the Premier League: "We can take the Champions League as well. I'm getting that out there!"
Away from Arsenal, she is also hoping to see some former Gunners excel at their new clubs. "I would like to see Sunderland up higher as well, just because I feel like Xhaka needs some validation from last season. He's obviously fit in quite well at Sunderland. They played a pretty good game, so I would like to see them a lot higher than where they finished last season!"
