The Emirates Stadium

Saturday, 18 October 2014

Arsenal 2-2 Hull City

Aerial shot of The Emirates Stadium (Arsenal.com)

Programme - £3.50

Ratings

Overall Ground Quality : 9/10

Ease of getting there : 8/10

Atmosphere : 6/10

Programme : 8/10

View of Action : 6/10

Quality of the game : 7/10

The "football" feeling : 8/10

Chances of coming here for a random game : 1/10

Legroom : 10/10

Surrounding area : 8/10

Overall : 71/100

The underground players entrance

Dennis Bergkamp Statue

A little reminder of the last
Arsenal-Hull City match

Tony Adam's Statue

The famous clock from the Clock End

Thierry Henry Statue

West Stand

North Bank

East Stand

West Stand

North Bank

East Stand

North Bank

East Stand

West Stand

North Bank

East Stand

North Bank

West Stand

North Bank

East Stand

Arsenal 2-2 Hull City

From an aging Fratton Park in the basement division one week to the modern Emirates Stadium in multi-million pound Premier League the next. Our day in the capital consisted of stadiums of the past, the present and the future. We started with a stadium of the future which will be the home of West Ham United in the next few years, yes the controversial Olympic Stadium in Stratford. Next was our stadium of the past which was the very historic Highbury. Finally our stadium of the present was of course the Emirates Stadium.

Of course as we’ve found over the years, getting an Arsenal ticket is like gold dust and requires a lot of preparation. When the fixtures came out during the summer, we targeted this being a potential fixture where we could get tickets in the away area (1- most Hull City have been to the Emirates now 2- Hull is a working class area with very little money therefore fans may struggle to afford the expense of travelling to London). With that in mind, I (Ross) rang Hull City when they were on sale to supporters with a history within the last 2 years (even though Adrian and I do not have that). We took a chance and saying we haven’t purchased tickets for at least 3 years which was enough for them to sell us the tickets. RESULT!

I (Ross) met up with Adrian in Leicester before we made our way down the M1 southbound. Our journey down to the capital was fairly straightforward (apart from the temporary average speed cameras near Catthorpe which has been a regular problem on our final few grounds in the south).

We arrived in Enfield mid-morning parking up on Willow Road before walking to the railway station going to Seven Sisters. We changed at Seven Sisters going on the Victoria line to Highbury and Islington before making our final change onto the London Overground line to its terminus in Stratford.

In the heart of the Olympic Park, we made our way to the Westfield shopping centre into the John Lewis building to see the viewing platform as suggested by a colleague. When we reached the top of the building (now a Children’s Department) we found the viewing platform and we were amazed at the views over the Olympic Park. Once we admired the view across Stratford and took a few photos, we made our way to the ground level and towards the Olympic Stadium. At the time of writing, the Olympic Stadium was mid way through the transformation between Olympic to Football mode. This involves the extending of the roof and the moving of the lower tier closer to the pitch ready for its new tenants, West Ham United.

One thing that shocked Adrian (almost giving him a heart attack) was the price of going up the ArcelorMittal Orbit which we believe is the tallest sculputure in the UK. ArcelorMittal Orbit (or will it be the Bobby Moore Orbit when West Ham move in!) was £15 each to go up to the top just to see into the Olympic Stadium which is currently a building site. On this occasion we gave it a miss but still managed to walk around some parts getting some brilliant photos.

Once we finished admiring the future home of the Hammers, we made our way back towards the Westfield shopping centre where we saw Karl Robinson’s MK Dons team coming out of the Holiday Inn going into Cafe Football for their pre-match meal ahead of their clash against Leyton Orient just a mile down the road.

With time pressing on, we got back on the Overground line to Highbury and Islington before changing to the Victoria line and getting off at Finsbury Park where we would be getting on following the match. We walked to the Emirates Stadium where we ate at a cafe just outside the Emirates Stadium called Little Wonder Cafe where we ate our all day breakfast and had a mug of tea.

Once we were watered and fed, we took some photos outside the Emirates on our way to Highbury.

Now luxury apartments manned by numerous stewards on a match day, the original structure of two of the stands remain yet have been transformed into housing. Even the shape of the stadium can remain to be seen with the housing blocks on all four sides of the stadium. Highbury is a perfect example of a redevelopment where a previous stadium stood as you still feel it’s there unlike grounds such as Filbert Street and The Dell where little remains.

After reminiscing the past, we walked back to the present Emirates Stadium. With it still a little early, we went to another local cafe where we had a mug of tea (a bargain for 80p compared to the Emirates straight ahead). We then walked over one of the bridges crossing the railway lines over to the Emirates Stadium. Before we made our way in, we took a few more photos outside admiring Thierry Henry’s statue as well as the merging team photos entitled ‘The Spirit of Highbury’.

We made our way through the turnstiles into the vastly spacious concourse area filled with numerous outlets selling overpriced food and drink (similar to Wembley).

Following our toilet trip, we made our way to our padded seats in the lower tier of the Clock End.

The Emirates Stadium was opened in 2006 and has a capacity of 60,272 seats. Wikipedia claims “in 1997, Arsenal explored the possibility of relocating to a new stadium, having been denied planning permission by Islington Council to expand its home ground of Highbury. After considering various options (including purchasing Wembley), the club bought an industrial and waste disposal estate in Ashburton Grove in 2000. A year later they won the council's approval to build a stadium on the site; manager Arsène Wenger described this as the "biggest decision in Arsenal's history" since the board appointed Herbert Chapman. Relocation began in 2002, but financial difficulties delayed work until February 2004. Emirates Airline was later announced as the main sponsor for the stadium. Work was completed in 2006 at a cost of £390 million”. The Emirates has room to extend in the corners of the upper tier if needed. “In August 2009, Arsenal began a programme of "Arsenalisation" of the Emirates Stadium after listening to feedback from supporters in a forum. The intention was to turn the stadium into a "visible stronghold of all things Arsenal through a variety of artistic and creative means", led by club CEO. Among the first changes were white seats installed in the pattern of the club's trademark cannon, located in the lower level stands opposite the entrance tunnel. "The Spirit of Highbury" – a shrine depicting every player to have played for Arsenal during its 93-year residence – was erected in late 2009 outside the stadium at the south end. Eight large murals on the exterior of the stadium were installed, each depicting four Arsenal legends linking arms, such that the effect of the completed design is 32 legends in a huddle embracing the stadium”.

An exciting Premier League clash in north London which saw the teams squaring up to each other for the first time since the 2014 FA Cup Final.

Last season’s FA Cup Final winners, Arsenal, deservedly got an injury time equaliser through England international Danny Welbeck to salvage a point.

On the balance of play and amount of possession it was unusual to see honours shared but Hull City's rearguard display had to be admired and in Michael Dawson they have signed an inspirational leader, he eventually had to be withdrawn because of an ankle injury but his performance was immense.

Arsenal as you would expect were dictating the game from the first minute, reserve Hull City keeper Steve Harper making a double save from Welbeck and Sanchez and pushing a Santi Cazorla shot over the bar. However he had no chance with the opening goal, a brilliant piece of individualism by Chilean international Alexis Sanchez. He completely wrong footed Davies before firing a shot past Harper from a tight angle.

Surprisingly the lead only lasted 4 minutes, Mohammad Diame got away with pulling back Mathieu Flamini but while Arsenal lost concentration Diame chipped goalkeeper Szczesny for 1-1.

Hull’s injury problems were mounting, they lost Jelavic in the warm up and reserve keeper Harper had to be subbed prior to half time replacing him was third choice Jakupovic.

The second period was just 32 seconds old when we saw the third goal of the game, and astonishingly it was the Tigers that scored.

Some nice passing in midfield between Livermore and Huddlestone, combining the wing back Elmohamady, Huddlestone delivered an excellent cross for Abel Hernandez to head home, and the visitors were 2 -1 up at Arsenal.

From then on it was Arsenal encamped in the Hull City half of the pitch, the visitors dispensed with their striker Hernandez for another midfield player. They had no forwards on the field unless you could count Ben Arfa.

With no real outlet the pressure from Arsenal was relentless, but strangely Hull’s third choice keeper didn't have a save to make until late on, a shot from Cazorla and a header from the impressive Sanchez.

Just when you thought Hull would get a smash and grab victory Arsenal levelled in the first minute of added time. Welbecks left foot shot after good approach play from Sanchez (who else!) and they almost won it Gibbs denied by Jakupovic.

Arsenal really should have had enough to win the game despite several injury issues but Hull City put up a stubborn backs to the wall display and for that effort alone very few neutrals would deny them a point.

We would like to thank Hull City for selling us two tickets for the game. Getting into the Emirates Stadium seems a closed shop for the ordinary man in whatever competition. So imagine our surprise when we saw empty seats within the home areas!

As always at the big Premier League clubs, the fan base is far flung. All parts of Europe and the Far East. What they can't do though is generate a passionate atmosphere which comes from supporting your local/home town club.

Well done Hull City supporters for making some noise.

Over 60,000 in the stadium and to be honest I’ve experienced more noise at places like Burnley, Stoke City, Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and even the King Power Stadium with half the capacity!

All that with standing a superbly appointed stadium while we contemplate the past at Griffin Park and Fratton Park this is the style of stadium in the 21st century.

After the match, we made a quick dash back to Finsbury Park Station getting on the Victoria Line to Seven Sisters and from their getting a National Rail train to Enfield. We were back in Enfield for 5:30pm and on the road before 6pm.

As we joined the M1 from the M25, we overtook a few MK Dons coaches on their way back from a nil-nil at Leyton Orient. The flow of traffic was good on our way back to the Midlands until we hit the Catthorpe average speed limit again but that didn’t stop us from making good time arriving back in Leicester at 7:30pm.