A Chorleywood schoolboy had a "great" experience leading out the Arsenal team for their Boxing Day match against West Ham.

Alexander Poole, a pupil at The Russell School, in Brushwood Drive, was chosen at random from over 30,000 young Arsenal fans to be the Gunners’ mascot last week.

The nine-year-old walked the team out onto the pitch for kick-off at Upton Park and was given the opportunity to meet footballers ahead of the game, including club captain Thomas Vermaelen.

The match saw Arsenal come back from 1-0 to defeat West Ham 3-1, with players, Theo Walcott and Lukas Podolski scoring to put the club back on top of the Premiership.

Alexander said: "It was brilliant to have been chosen to be the mascot and to walk the team out onto the pitch.

"I got to meet loads of players, and we won the game so the whole experience was great."

Alexander, who lives in Chorleywood, was given the opportunity to stand alongside some of his football heroes as part of the club’s Junior Gunners programme.

As well as leading the team out at the start of the match, Alexander was also given the chance to see how things worked behind the scenes.

One of the football fan’s highlights was meeting captain, Vermaelen, who he walked onto the pitch with and stood infront of before the start of play.

Defender, Vermaelen, said he enjoyed meeting such a "passionate" supporter before walking out to face West Ham last Thursday.

Watford Observer:

The Belgian footballer, who joined Arsenal in 2009, said: "It was great to meet Alexander ahead of our game with West Ham. He was such a very passionate young supporter, and it was fun showing him how things work behind the scenes on a matchday."

Sue Campbell, manager of the Junior Gunners, said: "We were delighted to offer Alexander the chance to be our mascot for the game against West Ham.

"This is one of the many occasions throughout the year where our Junior Gunners get the opportunity to meet their heroes, and it is always a memorable event."