Goalkeeper Wayne Shaw stole the headlines for his pie-eating stunt but there were some genuinely lovely gestures on show at Gander Green Lane.
Sutton put up an admirable fight but were predictably downed by Arsenal in their FA Cup fifth round clash on Monday night.
The giant-killing wasn’t on for the non-league outfit as goals from Lucas Perez and Theo Walcott sent the Gunners through to a quarter-final against Lincoln City.
Sutton were rightly praised for their valiant showing in the competition up to that point, but Arsenal too should be commended for how they conducted themselves this week.
You’ve presumably already seen the viral footage of Walcott, Arsenal’s captain on the night, spending time with the crestfallen Sutton players after the game.
But that wasn’t the only touch of class on show as reports have since emerged about Arsenal’s decision to donate £50,000 to Sutton to fund the building of two classrooms for the club’s academy programme.
“The reality is that Arsenal have been superb all the way through this,” Sutton manager Paul Doswell told the Evening Standard. “We think they’re going to help us with the classroom, that’s what we’re trying.
“It’s going to go into the community fund and they’ve promised us £50,000 and that will buy two classrooms.
“That is an amazing gesture from them and one we’re very thankful for.”
The Arsenal directors also presented Sutton United with a wonderful gift to thank the club for hosting them for the evening.
Amazing gift from the @Arsenal directors to @suttonunited pic.twitter.com/6KFdDGTIhM
— Lizi Adams (@orangebannister) February 20, 2017
And while the gift and donation will be deemed relatively insignificant for a club as rich as Arsenal, they will mean a lot to Sutton which prompted several fans to praise the Gunners’ generosity.
https://twitter.com/POMPEYFAN4_1/status/833996098079428609
Fair play to #arsenal for the £50000 donation to Sutton – class act
— AntonyMolinari (@AntonyMolinari) February 21, 2017
Top marks to #Arsenal for a donation of £50,000 to #FACup opponents #Sutton . A touch of class shown by the Premier League club.
— peter brown (@peterrichardbro) February 21, 2017
Not an Arsenal fan but very impressed with the donation made by Arsenal. That is class
— Andy (@Andyravenclaw13) February 20, 2017
Well done Arsenal, great gesture 👏 https://t.co/zMZuGE5P9m
— Mark Lindsay (@Mark_L) February 21, 2017
https://twitter.com/WelshWizxrd/status/833987010461306880
