How The Who’s Roger Daltrey became an Arsenal fan during the school run

Rock stars and football often go hand in hand. From Pete Doherty handing out fanzines outside Loftus Road to Black Sabbath worshipping Aston Villa. 

And while most of these football-mad musicians have a dyed-in-the-wool affiliation with these clubs – having grown up supporting them long before strapping on a guitar – some have slightly more tenuous links. The Who frontman Roger Daltrey is a good example of the latter, as he explained to FourFourTwo recently. 

"It was about 1987: I was picking up my son from school, he got in with his mate, and there was this bloody red and white scarf," Daltrey explains. "I thought, ‘S**t, a Manchester United fan – not another one...’ I asked him what team it was and he told me, “It’s the Arsenal”. I thought, ‘That’s OK, that’ll do – I’m a Londoner’."

Bizarrely, this random encounter with a child would leave a life-long impression on Daltrey, who immediately poured his heart and soul into supporting the Gunners.

"From then on, that was it, every weekend," he tells FFT. "I fell in love with Highbury. We bought a couple of season tickets and it was a golden period of football for Arsenal, starting with the George Graham years.

"The chant in the stands was '1-0 to the Arsenal'. George got us there; the defence that [Arsene] Wenger inherited was like a brick s**thouse, and he then built the midfield and attack. I would say to people, 'This is the greatest football you’re ever going to see' and, sure enough, I was proved right. We haven’t been there since, but we looked bloody good last season!"

More Arsenal stories

Arsenal transfer news is ramping up this summer, with the Gunners set to loosen their wage structure to attract the best players.

Jurrien Timber looks to be next to join, Moises Caicedo is heavily linked, Xavi Simons is on the radar, Ivan Fresneda could join, though Arsenal could sell £100m worth of players, too. Romeo Lavia is in the crosshairs – though Liverpool want him, too. 

Meanwhile Folarin Balogun is being valued at £50m.