The former Arsenal player Pascal Cygan says he intends to send a signed jersey to Zohran Mamdani after being name-checked by the newly-elected New York City mayor during an interview on the Adam Friedland show this week.
During the interview, Mamdani, who beat Andrew Cuomo to become the first South Asian and Muslim to be voted into the mayoral position in November, received congratulatory video messages from Arsenal’s legendary striker Ian Wright, who scored 185 goals for the club, as well as former right-back Hector Bellerin.
Speaking about his love of Arsenal, Mamdani said: “Every day I wake up, I think about Sebastien Squillaci, Pascal Cygan, Marouane Chamakh.”
Squillaci, Cygan and Chamakh would have been extremely niche references for many casual viewers of the interview. For Arsenal fans, however, Mamdani’s mentions of the players would likely have underscored just how invested the 34-year-old has been in the club’s fortunes.
The French newspaper L’Equipe published an interview with Cygan on Wednesday, in which the former defender, who was part of the Arsenal squad that famously went a whole Premier League season unbeaten in the 2003-04 campaign, said he and his family had been “moved” by the mention.
“He is the mayor of New York and one of the most famous people in the world,” Cygan, 51, said. “We are hearing a lot about him right now. My parents were very touched when I told them the news.
Cygan played 98 games for Arsenal between 2002 and 2006 (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
“This is where you see the difference between a true fan and a casual supporter. It means he really knows, and has cheered on, all the players who have played for the club. I imagine I wasn’t the player who made him dream the most when he was young (smiles). It was undoubtedly more likely to be Thierry Henry or Dennis Bergkamp. I also suspect that if he mentioned me, it was to answer a question like, ‘Could you really prove to us that you know Arsenal’s history inside out?’ (laughs).
“I’m going to send Zohran Mamdani a jersey I wore during the Invincibles season, along with a little message. I’m going to contact the New York City Hall to make sure it genuinely reaches the mayor … I’m not doing this to get invited to New York, especially as I’m not very proud of my (level of) English. It’s just to say thank you. The funny thing is, I didn’t keep many jerseys from my career; I just kept a few aside, thinking they might one day come in handy for special occasions … And this is one of those, right?”
During interviews with The Athletic on the campaign trail, Mamdani explained that he fell in love during the Arsene Wenger era, a period in which Arsenal won three Premier League titles between 1998 and 2004. Born in the east African country of Uganda, Mamdani moved with his family to New York at the age of seven.
“My uncle is an Arsenal fan,” Mamdani told The Athletic. “He introduced me. Wenger was one of the first managers to really bring African players into the EPL. I grew up with Kolo Toure, Kanu, Alex Song, Lauren and Emmanuel Eboue. I had the Invincibles (the Arsenal team which won the 2003-04 Premier League title without losing any of the 38 matches) as magnets on my fridge. I loved David Seaman, Sylvain Wiltord, all these guys. I’ve gone to a few Arsenal games, many with my uncle. It really has been a big part of my life and my identity.”