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Arsenal will pay tribute to tragic former striker Billy Vigar before their Champions League match against Olympiacos on Wednesday. The 21 year-old sadly passed away last week after suffering a significant brain injury while playing for non-league Chichester City.
Vigar collided with a concrete wall during a game against Wingate & Finchley. He was placed in an induced coma and underwent an operation, but the injuries proved too severe and he died in hospital on Thursday.
His passing has shocked those at the North London club, where Vigar played for the under-21s until last year. Vigar was a graduate of Arsenal's Hale End academy and went on to feature regularly for the Gunners' under-18 and under-21 sides. He departed in the summer of 2024, having not made a senior appearance.
Vigar's death prompted a petition for improved safety measures at all grounds, and the FA have launched a review of perimeter walls and boundaries in non-league football, following the PFA's demand for an inquiry.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta paid tribute ahead of the weekend meeting with Newcastle, in which his players wore black armbands.. He said: "Well, it's shocking news. So straight away thinking about the family and how difficult it is to go through something like this in a very unexpected way as well.
"And hopefully they will dig in and understand what happened, why it happened and try to avoid these kind of things. But really sad news, and our full support with the family and our thoughts with all the loved ones."
Now, as first reported by The Sun, the Gunners are set to host a further tribute on Wednesday in their first match at the Emirates since Vigar’s death.
Before kick-off, a picture of Vigar’s will be shown on the big screen, with a PA announcement to be made.
Chichester City and Wingate & Finchley postponed their games on Saturday and the latter have pledged to install padding on the walls around their Maurice Rebak Stadium. Arsenal’s youth teams also wore black armbands in their most recent games and under-18s head coach Adam Birchall paid tribute to Vigar after a 2-2 draw against Brighton.
“I was never his head coach, but I used to take him for striker training and things like that. You see my face light up when I think about him,” he said. “He was fully committed to getting better every day. I thought he had a real resilience about him as a person. He was able to take on board ideas and development areas and come up with his own.
“We had some fun days on the training pitch, practising his finishing and things like that. As a human being, he was an exceptional young man, and as a football player, he had a lot of talent. It’s really, really sad.
"We’re all thinking about his family right now, and our thoughts, prayers and love go out to them.”
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