President Joe Biden will make his debut on the world stage at a summit marking NATO's 75th anniversary, where he will be presented with an Arsenal jersey by British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Arsenal will be coming to President Joe Biden.
On July 10, the United States will host the NATO summit in Washington DC to mark the historic 75th anniversary of the alliance. The occasion will bring together 32 allies, including the UK. Before the dinner with NATO allies, Biden is scheduled to host a bilateral meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Labour leader, who is also due to meet one-on-one with the president, will present the 81-year-old Starmer with an Arsenal football shirt featuring his surname and the number “46” on the back, symbolising his status as the 46th president of the United States. “It's Starmer's team so we thought it would be a personal gift,” a Downing Street official said. Starmer is a huge Arsenal fan and attends every game of the club, and also has season tickets to the Emirates Stadium.
Let's take a look at other celebrities living in the US who are Arsenal fans.
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Anne Hathway
During a press run for Anne's Amazon Prime romantic comedy, The Idea of You, it was revealed that the actress is an Arsenal fan. Her co-star Nicholas Galitzine first revealed the fact in an interview with NowTV in March. “Here's a really fun fact – Anne Hathaway is also a die-hard Arsenal supporter. I'm in a group chat with her family and we're all Arsenal supporters.” [They’re] Obsessed.”
Then, in April, a video of the pair at a remote press conference went viral, with Nick checking his phone and excitedly announcing “1-0”, causing Anne to gasp and grab the arms of the chair she was sitting in. “Who scored?” Anne asked. “Who scored?” the British actor replied, to which the mum-of-two shouted: “Oh my god, I love you!” The pair discussed the goal before apologising when journalists showed up, explaining that a match was on at the time and that they were both Arsenal fans.
The pair were surprised by a video message from the team's FC winger, Leandro Trossard, on the Today Show on April 29. Anne said she couldn't believe it and was “shaken” after receiving the message, while Nick said he was “star struck” by the athlete “more than anything else.” The pair also admitted to anchor Savannah Guthrie that Arsenal are also known as the Gunners.
Rihanna
Bahamian beauty Rihanna attended the Arsenal vs Everton match at the Emirates Stadium in February 2018. That night, Arsenal beat Everton winners 5-1. Rihanna met the team in person and got a behind-the-scenes look.
She was invited backstage at the day's match and asked if she was a Gooner on the field – after explaining that that's what Arsenal fans are called, she confirmed that she was. The Love on the Brain singer was also filmed meeting Sead Kolasinac, Mesut Ozil and Shkodran Mustafi.
Kevin Costner
The actor professed his love for Arsenal while watching their Premier League win over Burnley in 2014 while filming The Criminal in London, and explained how that love was born.
“When I'm doing films I often come to London and when I get the chance I want to watch this team,” he said in an Arsenal video. “When I was doing Robin Hood 25 years ago I said, 'I want to go watch somebody play' and I came to watch Arsenal.”
“It was at the old stadium and I remember being overwhelmed by the emotion. I don't pretend to be a huge fan or know much about it. They are my team and when I come I make sure to watch their games,” he continued.
In an interview about the 2016 film The Criminal, he revealed that he wanted to include a scene in the film in which his character would wear an Arsenal scarf during a fight and ask a kid if he was an Arsenal fan, but Arsenal didn't approve of the scene, as they thought it would “incite violence”.
Jay Z
Rapper Jay-Z began supporting the club due to his friendship with legendary former Arsenal player Thierry Henry, and in 2010, Jay-Z also publicly expressed interest in investing in Arsenal, but did not want to join the board of directors and become a “backstage investor.”
In an interview with Arsenal Magazine, Jay-Z clarified that he is an Arsenal fan, not a Manchester City fan. He explained how he became an Arsenal fan. “It was about five years ago now,” he said. “I saw Thierry Henry play when he was at the club and I just thought he was a great player.”
“Ever since then I've always been a big fan of the club, supporting you guys and you still play beautiful football like Thierry does. I think he's had a really long-term impact on the team,” the 54-year-old added.
In 2013, Jay-Z attended the Arsenal vs. Manchester United match, which ended in a draw, with his friend, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. Jay-Z ultimately did not buy any shares in the team.
Spike Lee
During an interview with Labour MP David Lammy on Joe's podcast Unfiltered in 2018, the manager spoke about being an Arsenal fan, which Lammy called a “disadvantage” because the manager is a Tottenham fan. Spike said he was planning to go to the Arsenal vs Chelsea game with actor Clive Owens.
Echoing Jay-Z's thoughts, the Brooklyn native explained that it was thanks to Thierry that he started supporting the North London team, and that he was his “gateway to Arsenal”.
“That's me at Arsenal and we became friends after that. Come on, don't hate me for that,” Spike shouted. “Thierry Henry!”
