Football Travel: Arsenal FC

The Gunners’ famous Emirates Stadium looks like it came from outer space and landed in red brick Holloway housing. Since moving from its Highbury home, Arsenal has swelled its average attendances, if not its trophy cabinet. Here’s how to visit Arsenal FC.

Arsenal is one of England’s most famous clubs, and has not been out of the top flight since 1919, a record. The Emirates has a capacity of 60,432, which has helped Arsenal achieve the seventh highest average attendances of any club in Europe.

The Emirates is almost always at capacity, making tickets difficult to come by if you don’t know a ticket holder, are willing to go through a third party site or attend an early round EFL Trophy match where you can watch the future of Arsenal, if not its current stars.

Here’s more on Arsenal ticket prices for non-members.

The atmosphere at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium

Arsenal’s old ground was known as “The Highbury Library”, as Arsenal fans are not renowned for their singing. This has transported across to the much larger Emirates, despite efforts from some fan groups to improve the atmosphere at Arsenal.

The Emirates is a stunning ground, though. It reminds me a lot of Benfica’s Estadio da Luz. I have been a number of times, as I know season ticket holders there in the North Bank. That’s the left as you see it on TV.

I have also been in amongst the “Prawn Sandwich” brigades in corporate and they put on a lovely buffet and you sit on quality, padded seats.

Arsenal is a club with a long and successful history, reflected all around the Emirates Stadium in the form of players from its illustrious past interlinked. Its success seems to come in phases: The 1930s, the 1970s, and from the late 1980s right up to the famous invincibles of 2003-04. [Continues…]

How to get to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium

Handily, the Emirates sits within comfortable walking distance of two London Underground stations: Holloway Road on the Piccadilly Line, and Highbury and Islington on the Victoria Line. Both of these stack up after fulltime so either make a sharp exit or stick around in a local pub until the crowds disperse.