A young Arsenal fan has hit out at critics who suggested he should not attend matches because he is blind.
Mikey Pouli, who writes in his social media bio that he has been blind since the age of seven, posted to Twitter a video that lists a string of messages complaining that he has tickets for Arsenal games.
The criticism suggests that because he cannot see the match he is wasting a ticket, despite his obvious enjoyment of the environment, also demonstrated in clips on the same video.
Now aged eight, Pouli trains with the England setup that takes account of his lack of vision that occurred due to a ‘rare eye disease.’
On Friday morning he posted the clip with the caption: “To all you HATERS saying I shouldn’t go to games because I’m blind and wasting a ticket. I will be going to EVERY GAME POSSIBLE to cheer on The @Arsenal . My disability does not define me!🖕🏼🖕🏼 COYG 🔴⚪️”.
In response to the tweet, hundreds of fans of the game - not just those for Arsenal - encouraged Pouli to keep going to games amid an outpouring of support for the youngster.
Pouli’s obvious enjoyment of going to the stadium this year will only have been enhanced by the success of both their men’s and women’s teams.
Arsenal remain top of the Premier League under Mikel Arteta and with the season closing in, many consider them favourites to win the title for their first time since the departure of their legendary manager, Arsene Wenger.
The women’s side are also excelling, remain in the UWCL and could also go top of the table if they win their game in hand by a sufficiently wide margin.
You can watch Arsenal's quest to win the Women's Champions League 2022/23 trophy free on DAZN's official YouTube channel.