Published: 10 January, 2013
by STEVE BARNETT

HUNDREDS of excited young Arsenal fans flocked to the Emirates Stadium to spend the day with their heroes

The eagerly-anticipated annual Festive Funday saw more than 400 Junior Gunners join the first-team squad on Thursday for an action-packed programme of events.

The youngsters waved their banners and chanted as they watched the team’s morning training session before being thanked by Arsene Wenger for all their raucous support.

They then took part in a signing session, getting pictures taken with their favourite players.

The fun didn’t stop there – with striker Lukas Podolski challenging young supporters to games of FIFA 13, while Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla (pictured left) took on Junior Gunners at table football.

Carl Jenkinson, Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs and Tomas Rosicky also all joined in the fun, which was brought to a close with a specially-produced Arsenal pantomime – The Greatest Fairy Tale Ever Told – which featured guest appearances from a host of first-team players including a starring role for Per Mertesacker as the giant from Jack in the Beanstalk.