A sunny day out with Tony and Kathy, a tour of San Pedro, a good lunch, and Arsenal U21s in action at Pinatar Arena. Great company, a fun match, just missing an Arsenal win and the T‑shirt I somehow lost along the way.
When my friends Kathy and Tony messaged to ask if I wanted to go and watch Arsenal U21s play Villarreal C in San Pedro del Pinatar, they barely needed to finish the sentence. As an Arsenal fanatic, the answer was always going to be yes.
A Day Out with Tony and Kathy.
They picked me up around midday and took me for a little tour through San Pedro. We stopped for a drink at The Boardwalk Bar, a lovely spot right on the promenade. The weather was perfect, the sea looked beautiful, and we sat chatting for a while before moving on.
From there, they drove me through the Salt Flats, pointing out the different coloured pools of water, and then along to the Mediterranean. It was a nice reminder of how much variety there is in this area.
Lunch in El Mojón.
We stopped for a late lunch at Pizzeria Trastevere in El Mojón. All three of us went for the Menu del Día. I chose a bean stew to start and pork chops with pepper sauce for my main, washed down with a beer. We talked about the local area, the match, and Arsenal’s youth prospects.
After lunch, we headed back to Tony and Kathy’s house so I could take a look at their computer. Their machine is … let’s say “vintage,” so backing up their photos to an external drive was going to take a while. We left it running while we went out to the match.
Villarreal C vs Arsenal U21s.
When we arrived at Pinatar Arena, we went straight to the bar. It was set up outside and had a tropical beach‑bar feel to it, perfect in the hot weather, especially with the cool breeze. We had a pint and chatted about the Arsenal squad until a couple more of Tony and Kathy’s friends arrived.
For reasons known only to the organisers, spectators were only allowed to sit in a tiny section of the stand, directly behind the home dugout. We sat at the top so we could see over it. The seats were rock‑hard, but once the teams came out, I forgot all about that.
Villarreal C didn’t have any names I recognised, but Arsenal’s lineup included a few familiar faces: Reuell Walters, Lino Sousa, Salah‑Eddine Oulad M’Hand, and of course Ethan Nwaneri, the Premier League’s youngest‑ever player.
Villarreal started strongly and scored first. Arsenal lost a player to injury in the first half, which brought Nwaneri on earlier than expected. He looked fearless, confident on the ball, sharp, and clearly destined for big things.
In the second half, Villarreal broke at pace, and an Arsenal defender brought their player down just outside the box. The referee immediately showed a red card. From the resulting free‑kick, Villarreal scored their second. Arsenal, even with ten men, probably had more possession, but they couldn’t break through. The match finished Villarreal 2, Arsenal 0.
One thing that annoyed me: the stewards refused to let the young kids get autographs from the Arsenal players. They allowed them to approach the Villarreal team but blocked them from going near the Arsenal side. It was unnecessary and disappointing.
Post‑Match Refreshments.
After the game, we drove to Heladería Ferrer in San Pedro del Pinatar. The ice cream displays were dangerously tempting, but I behaved myself and settled for a pint instead.
Back at Tony and Kathy’s house, I checked the photo backup, it had worked, but the rest of the job would take longer. We arranged for them to come to my apartment next week so I could finish the work on my much faster computer.
Tony then drove me home to Los Alcázares.
Final Thoughts,
I had a great afternoon and evening. The only thing that would have made it better was an Arsenal win, and maybe not losing the T‑shirt I swapped for my Arsenal shirt before the match. It was also lovely to see my friend Claire at the ground with her little boy.
A good day out, good company, and good football, even if the scoreline didn’t go our way.
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