8th August

On the 8th August 2001, Arsenal ex-player Paul Vaessen was found dead in his bathroom in his house in Bristol. He was a heroin addict and a large amount of drugs was found in his bloodstream, attributing his death to overdose. Vaessen was born in 1961 and played for Arsenal as a striker between 1978 and 1982, scoring 6 goals in 32 appearances. He died at the age of 39. His most memorable goal came in the 1980 Cup Winners Cup Semi Final Second-leg, when he headed Graham Rix's cross and put Arsenal 2-1 up over Juventus to secure a place in the Final.

On the same day in 2004, Arsenal beat Manchester United with the score of 3-1 at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff to win the FA Community Shield. Gilberto Silva scored for Arsenal on the 50th minute to be equalised by United's Alan Smith in the 55th minute. Then Reyes scored on the 58th minute and Mikael Silvestre scored an own goal in favour of Arsenal on the 79th minute. Silvestre eventually joined Arsenal from Manchester United on the 20th August 2008. On the day, Arsenal played in blue while United used their red home shirt.

After playing with the Southampton youth academy since the age of 7 and signing professional terms with Southampton in 2010, the young Englishman appeared 36 times for the Saints, as they are nicknamed, in the 2010/11 season, scoring 9 goals. At the age of 17, the young winger was announced as a summer 2011 signing for Arsene Wenger's Arsenal on the 8th August 2011. It was reported by the press, despite not officially confirmed, that Arsenal paid £12 million for his services, which could rise by a further £3 million depending on appearances and performances.