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Arsenal fan turns down cheeky £1,000 bid for the tie Arsene Wenger gave to his son
Luca Iacurti managed to grab the memento after holding up a sign at the Gunners' final home game of the season
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AN ARSENAL fan has turned down a cheeky £1,000 bid but for the special tie his son received from Arsene Wenger.
Luca Iacurti, seven, was handed the tie as a memento following Wenger’s final home match as Gunners boss on Sunday.
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The lucky kid, from Hayling Island in Hampshire, came to the Emirates with a prepared sign asking: "Arsene, can I please have your tie?"
Wenger, who leaves Arsenal at the end of the season, saw the request and handed over the item during a lap of honour.
Father Rocco, 39, a fabrication manager, has revealed the family has been inundated with offers but they are refusing to sell the tie on the internet.
Rocco told The Sun: “I have already had offers for the tie.
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“Somebody said in jest to me: ‘I’ll give you a grand for it.’ But we aren’t doing that.
“We are not in it for the money. It’s a wonderful piece of history, an once-in-a-lifetime gift, and we are keeping it.
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“I am going to get the tie framed up for Luca and hang it up on his bedroom wall.
“We made the sign up and hey presto it worked. Security were fine with us bringing it into the stadium.
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“Wenger started to walk past as Luca stood up with the sign. We thought we had missed our chance but then Wenger looked up, gave us the nod, undid his shirt buttons and handed over the tie.
“It’s all very surreal but also a wonderful present.”
The family paid special thanks to Wenger on a trip to the beach on Bank Holiday Monday, by writing ‘Thank you, Arsene’ in the sand.
Rocco added: “Luca probably doesn’t appreciate the significance of what he has got but he was absolutely buzzing after the match. He has felt like a million pounds ever since.
“He wants to wear it for school this week but he’s not going to.”
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Wenger, 68, is leaving Arsenal this summer after 22 years in charge.
During his time in North London, he won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cup victories.
In 2003-04 he famously guided Arsenal’s ‘Invincibles’ to a historic unbeaten league campaign.
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