Copy linkFacebookXPinterestEmailShare this article 0Join the conversationFollow usAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleNewsletterSubscribe to our newsletterAlfie Dundas meets FourFourTwo at a local coffee shop, aloof and unassuming. To look at him, you wouldnt know he had become a viral sensation after clips of his stand-up routines had reached tens and hundreds of millions.You might have been able to guess hes an Arsenal fan, though, as many Londoners in their 20s seem to be.Since the Gunners Premier League title win - and subsequent Champions League Final defeat - Dundas has been stopped in the street, mistaken for a football content creator, which he isnt. But much of what hes been posting lately has been football-related."I remember Brighton coming to the Emirates and chanting dirty northern bastards"Its not quite an obsession, but Alfie describes himself as a die-hard Arsenal fan. A season ticket holder for over a decade, you could argue that the past 11 years at the Emirates Stadium had primed him for a career in comedy.Though Dundas doesnt come from a footballing background - more on that later - he found his way into the sport as a bolshy kid, who enjoyed the rough and tumble that you just dont get with sports like cricket or tennis. You may like Arsenal losing the Champions League final is the start of something special: and destiny proves it Arsenal legend Tony Adams opens up on his battle with alcohol: "When England were knocked out of Euro 96 I went on a 44-day booze bender and hit rock bottom... since then I've been sober and I'm proud that I've not p*ssed the bed for 30 years" 'Arsenal win the double, not the quadruple' Clinton Morrison's Top Top Column Consequently, he didnt have a family team to follow. His elder half-brother supports Tottenham Hotspur, though, which undoubtedly makes North London derby day an interesting affair, having fallen in love with the likes of Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker during their Spurs heyday.The 22 years since winning the league is the 22 years Ive supported Arsenal, Dundas tells FFT. I was watching games when Unai Emery was in charge, and when [Freddie] Ljungberg was in charge for four games. I watched [Granit] Xhaka. I was at the game where he took off the armband, threw it down, and we booed him.Get FourFourTwo NewsletterThe best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Neutrals and naysayers have, in response to Arsenals recent success, chided the volume of supposed Gunners fans crawling out of the woodwork to bask in the glory of a Premier League title. Its fashionable to follow The Arsenal these days.In Dundas case, he has at least been there through the more trying times. That is not to suggest Arsenal fans have had it harder than supporters of other clubs, quite the opposite, but following a football club is all about taking the rough with the smooth - even if one mans trash (repeated fourth-place finishes and Champions League football under Arsene Wenger, for example) is another mans treasure.There is a world in which Dundas mightve ended up supporting north London rivals Spurs, had former England defender, and representative of both clubs, Sol Campbell decided to do some shopping in the weeks leading up to his Highbury move, rather than after it. What to read next Leah Williamson reflects on her 20-year Arsenal journey as she signs new contract TV ace tells FourFourTwo about starting his career next to Brian Clough Gordon Strachan interview with Henry Winter: 'I never really enjoyed the World Cups' My Dad was working in a jewellery store in London on Bond Street, and Sol Campbell came in and bought some jewellery.At the time, I had been like Whats our team? He just said, Well, we're Arsenal fans now.Sol had just come to Arsenal, two or three weeks earlier, so I got very, very lucky in that window. I could have had a horrific last 10 years as a Spurs fan.FourFourTwo are keen to know what kind of Arsenal fan Alfie would describe himself asAll fans, except for Arsenal fans, are insufferable and unbearable. That's the new headline I want to put out. I like to see myself as a sufferable Arsenal fan, if you will, Dundas answers glibly.He is online, its where hes racked up hundreds of millions of views and grown a sizeable following. Being online as an Arsenal fan, though, means seeing supporters of every other club tearing into your allegiance.Social media has ruined football fandom. I went to 22 games this season, the banter in person between fans is great. My seats are next to the away fans, and when we lose they are f***ing on it, and when we win we give it to them - it's great.I remember Brighton coming to the Emirates and chanting dirty northern bastards. That is so funny. It's online that's the problem.You have to let the Arsenal fans be. It's been 22 years of non-stop stick."Perception is important in Dundas line of work and it seems something he has a good handle on. Hes spent the past several months writing and rewriting his first hour-long stand-up special, which will debut at this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival.The majority of Fringe, and what Fringe started as, was cheap, literally on the fringes of society, a lot of alternative comedy, cabaret, and theater. It's where you get performances that you won't see mainstream in mainstream comedy outlets, your comedians that you won't see on Live with the Apollo or Taskmaster.First time I went to Fringe, I walked into the show, it was a free show, and it was a guy doing poetry whilst trying to get out of a straitjacket, and it's cool - I'm not saying it's good, but you go and you're like, Well, I wouldn't see that at the West End.So, is being shot at as an Arsenal fan better or worse than putting yourself in the firing line as a comic, especially as the son of a member of the House of Lords?I find it very hard to define my style of comedy, partially because I'm still figuring it out.I should be getting heckled a hell of a lot more, Dundas jokes. I think because I talk a lot on stage about the stereotypes of who I am, being a posho and all these things, I'm sort of heckling myself. The whole show is just one big heckle to myself. So, I think if you're sitting in the crowd, you're going, Who's this posh prick? And well, if I open with that, then you've kind of got nowhere to go.So, how does a perceptive, Arsenal-supporting, upper class twenty-something on a promising career trajectory deal with defeat and disappointment? Well, seeing as Paris Saint-Germain were especially reluctant to loosen their grip on the Champions League trophy, hes had first-hand experience of that, too.I wanted it to be Gabriel. If someone had to miss that penalty, that final penalty, I'm glad it's Gabriel, because he's experienced enough to take it. He's a centre-back, so he shouldn't be anywhere near it, anyway.He can shoulder that, in the same way that [Bukayo] Saka missed the penalty in the Euros [Final], and then came out the next season and became our penalty taker.Dundas act isnt vulgar but it does challenge his audiences sensibilities, contrary to some older comics claiming that you cant say anything these days for fear of offending someone - a distinction Alfie disagrees with.For me, the most fun thing to try and achieve on stage is to get no complaints at the end of the gig. I don't want to upset anyone, but I'm making jokes about Diana's death, 9/11 and the class system, and for nobody to complain at the end of the gig, but to deal with subjects which are weighty is a really fun game.I'm already excited for the fall and rebirth of my career.And Arsenal?The next couple of years are very bright for Arsenal. Now, my comedy career on the other hand is all downhill after this interview. Alfie's career was going well until he did FourFourTwo'. You do FourFourTwo twice in your career, one on the way up, one on the way down. Somehow this is both.Alfie Dundas: First Class Panic is playing at the Pleasance Courtyard from August 5, until August 30, 2026 at this years Edinburgh Fringe Festival.TOPICSSol CampbellBrighton and Hove AlbionArsenalTottenham HotspurPremier LeagueJoe DonnohueSocial Links NavigationSenior Digital WriterJoe joined FourFourTwo as senior digital writer in July 2025 after five years covering Leeds United in the Championship and Premier League. Joe's 'Mastermind' specialist subject is 2000s-era Newcastle United having had a season ticket at St. James' Park for 10 years before relocating to Leeds and later London. Joe takes a keen interest in youth football, covering PL2, U21 Euros, as well as U20 and U17 World Cups in the past, in addition to hosting the industry-leading football recruitment-focused SCOUTED podcast. He is also one of the lucky few to have 'hit top bins' as a contestant on Soccer AM. It wasn't a shin-roller.
