Best Atmosphere at Highbury

[This Is The Daybreak]

That you have experienced

The really special ones, the ones you were honoured to be at.

Ones that spring to mind for me are

Every home game during the knock out phases of the champions league in 2006 (Madrid, Juve and Villareal, such tense but some of my greatest memories of the old place lie within those games, was on the clock end for each one which was wonderful).

Arsenal 2 Manchester United 2 April 2003

Remember this one, real title decider and had arrived at the ground at about 3pm and was drinking at the gunners...was a wonderful spring evening and neck and neck on points going into April...was a real title decider and the tense atmosphere within the ground that night was superb which had everything

Arsenal 4 Bolton 1 1997/98

The 179 Just Done It game, we'd been urging Wright for a while and I thaught it'd come in the Spurs game a few weeks before but this was just perfect, Highbury in the sunshine..a special atmosphere.

They're a few for now

[REB]

im lucky enough to have stood on the north bank a good few times and always loved the atmosphere for the bigger games,,and have to many games to compare but the one game for atmosphere was the ian wright bolton match and for those that were there will understand,, 4 stands singing ian wright wright wright and the man himself milking it for all it was worth,, priceless

[Cus Geezer]

Undisputed winner

Arsenal 5 Southampton 1 1991/2 - The last on the North Bank. Which I've gone into before.

Others.

Arsenal 4 Southampton 0 1990/1 - The season before, lost 2 points earlier in the week because of the fracas with Man Ure. Limpar made two and scored one and was the best player on the pitch. Then in the 2nd half stood with his back to play arguing with George Graham for nearly ten minutes for no apparent reason.

Arsenal 7 Sheffield Wednesday 1 1991/2 - 1-1 with 20 minutes to go. It was a dull game with people leaving early (yes they did even back then). Kevin Campbell turned and hit one out of the blue which went in. The whole thing turned into a rout, which continued until the end of the season as we didn't lose any further games.

[charliegeorgewhocanhitem]

An FA cup tie at home to the mancs springs to mind, the one where Mclair blasted a penalty over the bar in front of the north bank Unfortunately I was'nt there but they say the Fairs Cup final at home to Anderlecht where we pulled back a 3-1 defecit from the first leg and won our first trophy in 17 years was a pretty special atmosphere. Another one I remember is a league cup night game against man city in the 70s, the offiavial crowd was something like 57,000 but everyone who was there reckons it was probably nearer to 67,000, you could hardly move and the atmosphere was fuckin electric.

[MK Gould]

Another one I remember is a league cup night game against man city in the 70s, the offiavial crowd was something like 57,000 but everyone who was there reckons it was probably nearer to 67,000, you could hardly move and the atmosphere was fuckin electric.

Yes. Brilliant. Think we'd drawn away and this was the replay. 1-0. It was definitely more than 57,000. That was in the days when it was still possible for the guy on the turnstile to let you in without it registering and pocket the money.

Another more recent one when Highbury rocked was the Champions League Quarter Final v Chelsea. I know the attendance would have been so much smaller, and everyone sitting, but boy, it would take some beating!

[Number 5]

Back in 93 I remember an FA Cup game against Leeds, 2-0 down at half time and being spanked, Parlour got us back into it before Merson picked up the ball just inside the Leeds half, floated foward cut inside to the right and smashed the equaliser from about 25 yards, top corner. Even though we only had one end as the mural was up at the North Bank end, and I was in the clock end, I remember it going absolutley mental, loudest noise I heard at highbury even after the north bank was back up and running.

[ABO]

Probly when we had already won the league back in 91 before we kicked off against Man Utd, wicked atmosphere! Also a European game against Benfica the following year was a great atmosphere even though we lost!

[northbankdamien]

have to think hard about this one but the first one that comes to mind was Psg in the cup winners cup semi

[Victoria Concordia]

CGWCH-yeah, was at the Mc Clair game - I think that was the first of many scraps on the pitch with Utd players to come. Anyone on the north bank in May 89 v Wimbledon?- an unlikely game to choose but it was so tense coz we were so close to the title and had not won it for 18 years. Last game of the season before the Liverpool away match. Winterburn scored a screamer then the Dons went 2v1 up but The Merse smashed one in and the dream was back on- I think everyone went home that night thinkin we'd blown it though coz no-one won at Anfield in those days. By the way, I should be Victor not Victoria, how do I change my name (never thought I'd have a sex change!!)

[southampton gooner]

All of the above are a good shout, but 1 that i remember was when we played France in a friendly and won. It was such a laugh no pressure and lots of singing.
But I did enjoy R Madrid at home in CL, winning the league against Coventry (I think) Last game of North bank were all good.

[legend10]

juventus in the champs league for me.

that night was awsome

[charliegeorgewhocanhitem]

CGWCH-yeah, was at the Mc Clair game - I think that was the first of many scraps on the pitch with Utd players to come. Anyone on the north bank in May 89 v Wimbledon?- an unlikely game to choose but it was so tense coz we were so close to the title and had not won it for 18 years. Last game of the season before the Liverpool away match. Winterburn scored a screamer then the Dons went 2v1 up but The Merse smashed one in and the dream was back on- I think everyone went home that night thinkin we'd blown it though coz no-one won at Anfield in those days. By the way, I should be Victor not Victoria, how do I change my name (never thought I'd have a sex change!!)

Nigel and Mclair were never the best of friends after that game were they Yep, I was on the north bank for that Wimbledon game. I remember saying "goodbye, see you next season" to a few of the geezers who stood near us, we were totally convinced that we'd blown it and it was one of the more depressing journeys home I've had after a game but that's what made Anfield 89 so special and something to really go mental about. Please take note **** fans

[dvbrisgooner1]

Everton in 98 - "would you believe it?"
Real Madrid in 06
Man Utd in 91
Man Utd in 97
Wimbledon in 89 (2-2 draw, real desperation for a win)
West Ham in 02 (late goals from Freddie and Kanu as went for the title)
Spurs in 96 (3-1)
Chelsea in 04 (Champions League - great atmosphere, but we lost)
Liverpool in 04 (3 days later, Henry took us to the brink of the title)
Liverpool in 90 (League Cup game, 50,000+, 1-0 Alan Smith)
My Dad always sticks by the Anderlecht game.
My brothers always remember Everton in the 88 League Cup semi-final second leg.

[charliegeorgewhocanhitem]

Another one I remember is a league cup night game against man city in the 70s, the offiavial crowd was something like 57,000 but everyone who was there reckons it was probably nearer to 67,000, you could hardly move and the atmosphere was fuckin electric.

Yes. Brilliant. Think we'd drawn away and this was the replay. 1-0. It was definitely more than 57,000. That was in the days when it was still possible for the guy on the turnstile to let you in without it registering and pocket the money.

Another more recent one when Highbury rocked was the Champions League Quarter Final v Chelsea. I know the attendance would have been so much smaller, and everyone sitting, but boy, it would take some beating!

Yep, I think the first game at their place was 0-0 and Jennings had a great game, he made some fantastic saves. We'd had a few barren seasons just before this so everyone was really up for it, think it was a quarter final when the league cup really meant something. Listening ****?????
One I did fail to mention was Everton at home in another league cup semi in 88, mentioned in a previous post which reminded me, it was a great atmosphere that night. Much better than when we beat the **** in last seasons semi

[26may1989]

Excellent list of games already up there - Everton in 98, Leicester in 04 and United in 91 were really special for being the big celebration days, that Wimbledon game in 89 and the Leeds FA Cup game in 93 (the last game I managed to convince my wife to go to) were also fantastic as never-say-die recoveries. That match against France (and another against Australia in the mid 80s) were fun in a surreal sort of way too.

But the one I'd add is a match against the then-magnificent Liverpool in about 1983, which we won 3-1. I remember Viv Anderson scored but my strongest memory is of how rocking the North Bank was. The place was of course absolutely heaving but the joy of beating the best team in Europe and, for the week, going top of the league was fan-fucking-tastic. Like lots of others too young for 71, I'd grown up used to Arsenal being somewhere between mediocre and shit, so seeing this game was amazing.