Former Arsenal academy player Billy Vigar passed away last week after suffering a significant brain injury during a match for Chichester City and the club will pay tribute to him
Arsenal will pay tribute to Billy Vigar before their Champions League game against Olympiacos on Wednesday night. The former Arsenal striker died last week after suffering a significant brain injury while playing for Chichester City.
The 21-year-old tragically passed away after colliding with a concrete wall during a game against Wingate & Finchley. Vigar was placed in an induced coma and underwent an operation, but the injuries proved too severe and he died on Thursday in hospital.
The FA have launched a review of perimeter walls and boundaries in non-league football in the wake of Vigar’s death. His passing has shocked those at Arsenal, where Vigar played for the under-21s until last year.
Mikel Arteta’s players wore black armbands during their 2-1 win over Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday in the Premier League. And The Sun reports that they are planning a further tribute on Wednesday in their first match at the Emirates Stadium 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. The Gunners host Olympiacos in an 8pm kick-off on Wednesday night for their second Champions League game of the season following a 2-0 win away at Athletic Club.
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 wore black armbands in their most recent games and under-18s head coach Adam Birchall paid tribute to Vigar after a 2-2 draw with Brighton on Saturday.
“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.”
In his press conference before the Newcastle match, Arteta also spoke about Vigar’s passing. “Well, it's shocking news, when I got it yesterday, obviously,” he said.
"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 kinds of things. But really sad news, and our full support with the family and our thoughts with all the loved ones."