Back in the summer of 2004 Arsenal played their final preseason friendly against Beveren of the Belgian league (from whom we received Eboue). The only invincible to travel with the team that day was Lauren. However, the remainder of the squad included, along with Danny Karbassiyoon, young players by the names of Bentley, Hoyte, Aliadiere, Senderos, Clichy, van Persie and a kid named Cesc (who was sporting a strange mullet hairstyle). Beveren is a small club with a smaller stadium, and the atmosphere was very informal, with a crowd of about 1500 in attendance. During warmups Rick B (who had travelled from London for this game – what dedication!) pointed Danny out to me. Although I live in Brussels, I am still a native Chicagoan and called out to my compatriot. He walked over immediately and chatted with us for several minutes with a big smile on his face, clearly delighted that he would be recognized in a Belgian backwater town. Following the game we were able to take photos with and obtain autographs from Le Boss and the players as they exited the locker room and headed for the team coach. I took the opportunity to talk a little more with Danny and asked Rick to take a photo of us. Danny is a great guy and deserves the tribute Arsenal America is organizing.