Osama's Soccer Secret

The world's most wanted man is an Arsenal fan, it has been reported.

Osama bin Laden began following the north London club when he lived in the capital in the early 1990s.

He was a regular figure on the Highbury terraces and cheered on the team in European and domestic fixtures.

But Arsenal chiefs insist the al-Qaeda leader will not be allowed back into the Clock End if he returns to the UK.

"We've seen the reports but clearly he wouldn't be welcome at Highbury in the future," an Arsenal spokesman told the News of the World.

Cup final

The revelations are made in the new book Bin Laden: Behind the Mask of Terror, which is published on Monday.

In it author Adam Robinson says the Saudi fugitive got into football while living in Saudi Arabia.

He regularly went to Arsenal matches - and even watched them get to the final of the 1994 European Cup Winners' Cup final.

Strip

In fact, bin Laden was so passionate about Arsene Wenger's team he even bought a replica strip, the book claims.

But the news will not go down well with Arsenal fans.

"He would do well at Arsenal," said one football fan. "He goes to ground quickly enough."