Arsenal’s secret weapon is Win the dog – but Gunner was club’s original good boy

The most popular member of the Arsenal squad has never kicked a ball for the club, or even stepped foot on the Emirates pitch. She does not say much, either, and is far more concerned with her nutrition plan than with Mikel Arteta’s tactical strategies.

Her name? Win. Her role? Club labrador. Recruited last year by Arteta, Win was identified as a dog capable of improving the family atmosphere at the club. The Arsenal manager often takes Win home with him after work and has described the chocolate labrador – a trained therapy dog – as the “perfect representative of who we are”.

Win’s arrival last season was another example of Arteta’s obsession with building the right culture at Arsenal, and of his willingness to think outside the box. This is modern thinking by a modern coach, and for Arteta it is all about finding those small percentages that can help the team going forward.

But Win’s daily presence at the training ground is not just about the present and the future. Her role at the club is also a nod to a little-known hero of Arsenal’s storied past, and another four-legged friend who helped the north Londoners to success almost a century ago.

Win, you see, is not the first Arsenal dog. Nor is she the first Arsenal dog recruited to help their pursuit of silverware. Long before she was born, in a different era and a different footballing world, there was a bull mastiff called Gunner who, by all accounts, was a very good boy indeed.

Gunner first joined Arsenal at the age of just seven months and he went on to play a significant part in the club’s FA Cup triumph in 1936. Historical records show that he was initially known as “The Gunner”, before his name was shortened prior to George Allison’s side defeating Sheffield United in the final at Wembley.

In advance of that final, Gunner had joined the Arsenal players at a training camp in Brighton. Just as Win was part of Arsenal’s squad photo at the start of this season, Gunner was with the class of 1936 as they posed for their own group picture.

While Arsenal were training in Brighton and preparing for the trip to Wembley, a telegram was sent to the squad (and later printed by The Daily Mirror). It was a message for Gunner, reading: “Eyes of dog world on you as Arsenal’s mascot. Must bring victory tomorrow.”

The telegram was signed by Roger and Nita, Gunner’s parents. The true author is unknown but one can only assume it was the handiwork of Captain Chris Towler, the man who had donated Gunner to the club.

Towler was the editor of The Sporting Life newspaper and a passionate dog breeder. According to The Story of Your Life, a history of the newspaper, he was the president of the British Bull Mastiff League. Nita, Gunner’s mother, was known to be his favourite.

Gunner stayed with the Arsenal squad as they travelled to Wembley, where Ted Drake scored the winning goal in the 74th minute. A week later, Gunner led the team on to the pitch at Highbury as Arsenal paraded the cup before their supporters.

Sadly, little is known about Gunner’s life beyond those heady few days in the spring of 1936. It is possible that he was simply a one-season wonder. After all, many lesser beings than dogs have been derailed by the consequences of such success. Gunner’s CV, though, cannot be questioned: in his first full season with Arsenal, he led the club to a major trophy.

The hope at the present-day Arsenal, of course, is that Win could yet have a similar impact in her first full campaign. Known for her exceptionally calm disposition, she is one of the great unifiers of the squad, apart from when the players are bickering over who gets to take her home (Ben White and Kai Havertz, both dog-lovers, are among her biggest fans).

Perhaps Win will play her part in a Premier League triumph this month. Perhaps she will not. Whatever the outcome, the wonder of dogs is that she will be there at the club’s training ground either way, wagging her tail and, just like her predecessor all those years ago, wondering what’s for dinner.