THERE was a warm tribute at Ashburton Grove today before Arsenal’s match with Liverpool for Danny Fiszman, the much celebrated club director who died last week, and, on the anniversary of one of football’s worst tragedies, for the supporters who died at Hillsborough.

Yet, true to form, the Gunnersaurus mascot, with his clumsy feet and permagrin, felt the need to join the rank of players in the centre circle. There’s a time and a place for this dino to appear, throwing freebies into the family enclosure, not bowing his head in prime position for a minute’s silence. He’s been here before.

UPDATED: This is now being discussed on the Arsenal fans forums across the information superhighway. One of my favourites contributions is this comment on the Arsenal Mania site.