It was 2014 and I wanted to propose to my girlfriend, Jess – I just hadn’t figured out how. She loved a surprise birthday party I’d organised two years before, so I thought something similar would be fun. A few friends and family were coming to cheer me on in the London Marathon, so I thought I could do it then. We could celebrate – hopefully – with everyone afterwards.
I asked Jess’s dad’s permission in a restaurant in London in March that year, and moments later Mikel Arteta walked in – as a big Arsenal fan, I took that as a good sign. He’d scored a penalty that day – the football gods approved.
