Collectors Club

Like plenty of good football stories, Simon's starts with Dennis Bergkamp. A Dutchman is perhaps not a natural bedfellow for a young football fan growing up in newly reunified Germany, but historic hostilities mattered little to the young Swabian watching Bergkamp's ethereal elegance light up the 1998 World Cup. The power of non-flying Dutchman's grace and silk was so strong that Simon not only eschewed national rivalries but also the all-powerful hold of Bayern Munich in his homeland. It is why, almost 30 years later, Simon holds an extensive collection of Arsenal shirts in Stuttgart.

"I always had the perspective to see good football," he explains. "For me, it was more important to see good football, fluid football.

"I remember the World Cup '98 very well as a 10-year-old kid watching in front of the TV. Dennis Bergkamp was my idol because his style of play was outstanding and his amazing goal against Argentina. After the World Cup, I had a look to see where he was playing? What club is he playing for? And so I came to Arsenal, and I said, Okay. I will follow them'.

Today's supranational game means Premier League clubs boasting fans from all across the globe is simply run of the mill. The internet has made football ubiquitous, with live matches and replica shirts wherever you are, no matter how far from N5.

But the 90s were very different, meaning Simon had to work hard to keep up with the Gunners and his beloved Bergkamp. Premier League highlights were not available until 2001, and his first shirt came a year later via a speculative call to a shop in Berlin.

"There was no broadcasting of games, so only in the newspapers after the weekend could you see the results - not much more. Around 2001, there were some highlight clips on ‌TV in Germany. So it was good to follow them on a Monday night, even if it was late. So I always watched the highlights from the weekend. Unfortunately, there was no social media back then to follow them though; it was really different and much more difficult to keep up."

"In 2002 I finally bought my first Arsenal shirt. It was difficult as well. I had to order it from a big store in Berlin. I had to phone them asking if you have some Arsenal shirts, because there was no eBay, no, no Classic Football Shirts. It was quite difficult to get them. I started with the red O2 shirt, which later became the Invincibles shirt. I got it at the start of the 2002 season, and that was my first ever Arsenal shirt."

Like many collectors, Simon's first shirt sparked something far bigger than what it represented at the time. However, it was not until the Covid-19 pandemic that Simon's penchant for collecting really took off to a level beyond that of the regular football fan.

With the pandemic forcing everyone to work from home, Simon set about working out how to decorate his new home office.

"My wife said, 'Hey, you have a lot of football shirts in your wardrobe. Why not buy the rails and put them on display ?' And I said, 'That's a great idea!'

"So I got all my shirts I had collected over the years and put them on a rail. It was 30 to 40 shirts, and the rail was almost full. That was when it got very serious!'

"I made an Excel spreadsheet because I had so much time, I had more income, and thought maybe I can fill the gaps. There are some seasons missing, and I tried to get them on eBay and Classic Football Shirts. Thinking about it, the first one I scrubbed off the list was an away shirt from the Invincibles season I bought from CFS.

"That's how it started, and I'm always someone who, when I start something, I need to do it properly, and I am one hundred percent committed to it. After a few months, I had over 100 shirts, so it ramped up really quickly. I'm pretty sure my wife regrets her suggestion now!"

Amongst the swathe of shirts all catalogued in Simon's spreadsheet, there is one standout that was also a happy by-product of the pandemic. When Arsenal's rare golden 2003 shirt popped up on a local selling platform in Stuttgart, Simon could not believe what he had stumbled upon.

"I knew I was missing that particular shirt, but I did not know at the time that it was so rare. I saw a guy who lived in Stuttgart was selling one on a local selling platform - a Craigslist-type of thing. I got a few shirts off him for about €50, and that famous gold jersey was amongst it!"

"It was only a few months later, when I got more involved with the collecting groups on Facebook, that I was speaking to people from the UK and they couldn't believe I only paid €50.

"To this day, I don't know how we got the shirt because it was quite rare even back then. It was only sold in one or two shops in London. It is worth about €1000 now, so I saved a lot of money!"

Simon's collection has continued to grow and develop as the world opened back up, and like most collectors, he has developed his own niche. While many look for a complete set for a certain club, or to get rare items, Simon has drifted in another direction altogether.

After initially deliberating trying to get a variety of player names on the back of his Arsenal shirts, Simon became enamoured with the exciting youth prospect Reiss Nelson.

Soon, he began collecting his shirts and has continued the tradition as Nelson's career has journeyed away from north London, via Hoffenheim, Feyenoord, Fulham and Brentford.

"I always wanted to have a variety of player names on shirts. Not always 50 Henry shirts, 50 Bergkamp shirts. I wanted to get as many players as possible, especially the niche ones.

"My main rule is that if I have a shirt with a player in my collection, he has to have played in at least one game so that I can find a picture of him.

"It was about 2017, when Arsene Wenger was playing a lot of academy players in the first team and I saw Reiss Nelson playing and thought he had something special.

"After that, I thought I could make a player collection. I didn't want to start a Henry or Bergkamp collection because so many people have those, so I started with him. I got one, two, three, 10 shirts and thought, okay my goal now could be to get every shirt he wears in his career.

"I have got shirts from Hoffenheim, Feyenoord and Brentford, and some of them are match-worn, including the Arsenal one which is framed and in my hallway.

Simon's love for Arsenal extends far beyond his extensive shirt collection, though it wasn't until 2015 that he finally attended a match at the Emirates. The club will probably be happy for him to keep ‌coming back, as he boasts 10 wins from 10 matches attended so far in London.

"The first time I went was in 2012, but I didn't get a ticket, unfortunately. My first game was in 2015 against Man City, so late in my journey with Arsenal but I have never seen Arsenal lose in London, so that's a good thing.

"I've heard people say 'Give this guy a season ticket but I don't think my record will remain if I get one!"

Matches are just another way that Simon has engaged and partaken in the Arsenal community, with social media also opening up doors and knocking down borders.

He meets up with fellow collectors at matches he attends in London, with shirts often exchanged and printed before being taken back to Stuttgart. Simon, like many collectors I've spoken to, emphasizes how many collectors actually help each other, and how it's very much a community and not competition. Before this project, I incorrectly assumed all collectors would fight over each other for the rarest shirts and it would be dog eat dog. In actual fact, it's the complete opposite, a lesson there to not always think the worst of people.

"One of the real benefits of shirt collecting is being part of such a friendly, knowledgeable, and welcoming community. We're always talking online and sharing our stories and passion and helping each other to make sure we don't get ripped off with fakes. I've met many people I never would've met in my life, and they have become my friends. We're chatting every day about shirts, about Arsenal. It's a really lovely community. There's no hate; there is no rivalry. You all help each other, and that's the best thing."

Simon knows he will need plenty of help to complete his collections, which continue to be meticulously tracked on his spreadsheets.

There are still plenty of glaring omissions, including Arsenal's 1994-96 yellow third shirt and a shirt signed by Reiss Nelson from his last-minute winner for Arsenal against Bournemouth. There are always new targets and collections too, including the shirts of every German player to play for Arsenal. Thankfully, Simon loves the thrill of the chase.

"It's the hunt for sure. It's knowing some special places that not everyone knows, or you get to know the right people who can put you in the right direction. At the beginning, it was always eBay and Classic Football Shirts, but with social media, there are now even more options and opportunities.

Connection is ultimately what underpins the whole of Simon's collection; his connection as a fan in Stuttgart to a club in London, to fellow fans and like-minded collectors, to certain moments and matches in time, and even specific players.

"For me, it's always an emotional thing. Every shirt provokes a response. I want to see my collection every day. I want to go through them and pick them up off the rail, so I've never thought about storing them away. It's so important to me to see them every day; sometimes I just rearrange them. There are a lot of different opinions on what you actually do with your collection; some people put them in wardrobes or boxes, but I always wanted to see them. The problem now is I have little space! My entire office is full, so I don't know where to put the next ones I get! I only really wear them when I go to games. It's a really difficult decision deciding which ones to take when I fly to London for matches."