Arsenal fan Chris Forino aims for surprise against Bolton Wanderers

The centre-back is one of six loyal Gunners fans in the Bolton camp and was looking forward to stepping onto the hallowed turf of the Emirates for the first time as a player after watching so many games from the stands.

Back in the days of Wanderers’ Premier League glory, Big Sam’s unassuming Whites regularly poked Arsene Wenger’s nose out of joint. Victories were restricted to home games – and Bolton haven’t won in north London since Bruce Rioch knocked the league’s reigning champions out of the FA Cup at Highbury 30 years ago.

But Forino can still remember the stylish Gunners getting a few nosebleeds in the past and now wants to do the same with a Bolton shirt.

“I remember coming home from training one day and seeing Bolton playing Arsenal and I think it was Ivan Campo who destroyed everyone,” he said. “He should have been sent off and we were 2-1 down.

“My dad told me they always struggled against Bolton in the past so we hope history repeats itself.

“They are world-class players and I don’t think we need to talk about their quality. That goes without saying. But crazy things happen and we just have to go out there and be the best version of ourselves, see where it takes us.”

Forino’s love affair with Arsenal began with a match against Portsmouth in 2008 and continues to this day. He watched the dramatic 2-2 draw against Manchester City at home with team-mate and childhood friend Jay Matete and counted down the days to the cup tie.

“I got goose bumps when I heard about the draw,” he said. “I’ve been crazy about Arsenal since I can remember. My whole family is.

“I lived 10 minutes from the stadium, went to school around the corner. They gave tickets for these kinds of games and did initiatives in the neighborhood. And my father probably wouldn’t have let me choose anyone else!

“I can’t wait for the game and I know a lot of the lads feel the same. For a lot of the younger Bolton fans this might be the first chance they have to go to the Emirates and we hope we can make it a good night for them.”

While there have been rumours that Arsenal will field inexperienced youngsters ahead of their match against Leicester a few days later, Forino expects Bolton to have to defend with the same determination – and perhaps some villainy – as Arteta’s team did against City.

“I think we should do that,” he said. “I’m well rested by my time at Wycombe.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like Sunday, or at least something that extreme. I was watching it at home with Tets (Jay Matete) and cheering the boys on in that second half. We were unlucky to lose the goal.

“But William Saliba and Gabriel have absolutely transformed the club. It’s attacks that win you games, but defences that win you the league and hopefully that’s the case this season.

“The Premier League is a different style to League One, but I don’t see why I can’t take notes from it. I remember Saliba’s breakthrough season a few years ago and thinking ‘he’s two or three years younger than me!’ But he’s the epitome of what defenders want to be these days.”

Wanderers also have their eyes on Saturday afternoon’s clash with Crawley, but travel to the capital for an extended stay with increased confidence after a 5-2 win over Reading.

Forino hopes that the difficult start to the season, which quickly put pressure on manager Ian Evatt, will now run smoothly again.

“I think it started to feel better from last Tuesday, as crazy as that sounds,” he said. “We got thrashed and made fools of at home to Huddersfield, nobody was happy about that. We put the emotions aside after a long talk in the dressing room, but there was a certain mood for the Reading game, no disrespect to them, but we were going to win that game.

“The lads are in good form now. We’ve struggled to score goals this season but got five in one game. We need to tighten up a bit at the back but the next few games give us some chances for more wins and of course a big day on Wednesday.

“I sat here before the Wrexham game and said, if everything falls into place, that will be good for us.

“We needed that win. Everyone had to be patient, but now that it’s happened, it’s up to us to make it count.”