first experience of the Emirate Stadium

[REB]

transport at the arsenal is prob the best of all the london clubs,so many choices.

[maZu]

thanks cardinal2011... ill be online at 10am to try and get tix

[northbank123]

I don't normally use the Tube for matchdays but I have quite often used either the Piccadilly or Victoria line to/from Kings Cross. Travelling to the game it's always busy but I've never had a problem - although I'm sure the later you leave it the more likely you are to encounter difficulties. To be honest I've never not gone for a few pints before anyway so I'm never struggling for time.

After the game you are talking about probably numbers in the tens of thousands wanting to get a Tube back - basic logistics dictate there are going to be big queues at Arsenal and Highbury and Islington. If I really need to get back to St Pancras or Paddington for a certain train I either leave sharp-ish to head to Highbury and Islington or bite the bullet and walk a bit further to somewhere like Caledonian Road to be safe.

Granted I don't do this every matchday and I am far from the most qualified here to comment on London's transport system. But you have to acknowledge that being in a fairly central-ish London location with a 60,000 capacity we have far greater demand on local public transport.

[Theoperator]

Is it really just me that has problems getting there on time then

Agree its probably a lost cause expecting 60,000 to disperse quickly, but they do disperse far faster at grounds without tubes, that was really what I was trying to say.

I gues thats why some do leave early, and if you arent used to getting to the ground its easy to get there late I find- Im just saying that perhaps we are harsh on fans for getting there late or leaving early.

As for the queues at half time.......

[northbank123]

Is it really just me that has problems getting there on time then

Agree its probably a lost cause expecting 60,000 to disperse quickly, but they do disperse far faster at grounds without tubes, that was really what I was trying to say.

I gues thats why some do leave early, and if you arent used to getting to the ground its easy to get there late I find- Im just saying that perhaps we are harsh on fans for getting there late or leaving early.

As for the queues at half time.......

Maybe just not the ones who turn up about 15 minutes with a fish and chips meal deal

[cameron326]

The stadium isnt as special as Highbury - it could never have been. And arguably it could have nonetheless have been been better designed from a football perspective, eg the two goal ends being closer to the pitch and the lower tiers being stacked up more rather than so horizontal. From the outside its also just okay - very corporate looking (no small thanks due to the fucking huge emirates logo) although it does look like the stadium of a big club. Still, compared with similarly sized stadiums through Europe it could be worse. And despite people's protestations to the contrary Id warrant there are just as many passionate Arsenal fans there on any given match day as there were at Highbury - there are just more tourists as well. There's no reason though why the great atmosphere of games vs Tottenham or Bayern can't be recreated at every game. sure there's Twenty thousand or so who are never gonna sing with any passion. But then there's another twenty thousand who might sing but just, don't want to "because other people aren't singing or who's get some looks". The Emirates might not be Highbury, but only the fans can be blamed for a shit atmosphere - which was frequently the case at Highbury as well, despite it being a stadium of the Gods. It ain't the stadium . . . . If all the "potential" singers went with the intent to make some noise come what may, rather than "Ill get involved if its a lively atmosphere and everyone else is singing" the stadium would rock every game.

[robbo10]

My first visit to the Emirates was to dump some old carpet and a fridge back in the 80's with my old man, when it was still Ashburton Grove,Islington Council dump,does that count?

[DB10GOONER]

My first visit to the Emirates was to dump some old carpet and a fridge back in the 80's with my old man, when it was still Ashburton Grove,Islington Council dump,does that count?

Yep. Proper old skool.

[TheCook]

Welcome maZu glad you enjoyed your first game. Up the Gunners!!!

cheers !


does anybody know when the red ticket sale will be available from arsenal for the game against City on the 13th of Sept..?
theyre currently available to MO and SM members... i assume thats gold and silver members...?

Tickets go on sale to Red Members 1 month before the fixture, so that'll be 13th of August.

cool thanks... and what time will they be available... 9am?

Usually at 10am.

So out of the hundreds of matches held there, you use one example to try and prove a point?

"Its pretty hard to get there on time if coming by tube on the Picadilly line. Its a joke. Ive never yet got there at the right sort of time, im either over an hour and a half early or late"

Looks like you need to plan your journey a bit better as you keep getting it wrong.

Clearly the Piccadilly line from central London isnt up to the job at peak pre match times- Ive given up and go Victoria to H & I now. I dont get to every match, but V Saints someone by me said it wasnt the first & wont be the last time....

Have to say though that I find most other grounds where people tend to walk are a lot easier to get to on time that The Grove.

If you are seriously saying that the tube or train serves AFC well at peak times, pre and post match then perhaps Redaction isnt canvassing supporters very well. The queues at Arsenal H&I post match are horrendous, again I ve given up and go by bus.

I don’t know what you think REDaction do, but canvassing people on transport links is not part of their remit, and nor should it be. My post was clearly based on my personal experiences of taking the same route many times for many years. As you say, the post match queues at High and I are horrendous, but you have just attended an event alongside 60,000 other people ; where do you expect them to go? Just disappear into thin air so you can get home more quickly? One of the sacrifices we all have to make to attend these games is to have to try and get home at the same time as all the other punters, and often that involves a wait before you can get on the tube. That’s the reality of the situation.

[REB]

we have been blaming REDaction for a lot on this forum but to blame them for the transport is a bit much

[DB10GOONER]

we have been blaming REDaction for a lot on this forum but to blame them for the transport is a bit much

REDaction caused the tube strikes?!! Are you serious??!! Fuckers.

[northbank123]

we have been blaming REDaction for a lot on this forum but to blame them for the transport is a bit much

REDaction caused the tube strikes?!! Are you serious??!! Fuckers.

For a home game against Villa a few years ago we got a really bad puncture driving into London and ended up missing hte game.

RedACTION wankers

[Theoperator]

Redaction to improve the atmosphere at Arsenal games, and to give the best possible support to our team

So if the queues post match are horrendous, doesnt Redaction have some say in that (even if nothing happens)? If people leave early to avoid the queues, or inexperienced attenders get put off as they get there late (With their fish and chips ) then that both leaves a worse atmosphere at the ground and less support for the team does it not

[TheCook]

Redaction to improve the atmosphere at Arsenal games, and to give the best possible support to our team

So if the queues post match are horrendous, doesnt Redaction have some say in that (even if nothing happens)? If people leave early to avoid the queues, or inexperienced attenders get put off as they get there late (With their fish and chips ) then that both leaves a worse atmosphere at the ground and less support for the team does it not

I don't know where that quote is from os cannot comment in the context in which it was used.

As I said in my most recent reply, one of the sacrifices that us as supporters have to make, is to have to start our journey home at the same time as the other 60,000 punters who have attended the same match. That's reality. If you don't feel you are able to make that, then perhaps you should think about whether you want to attend. Sporting venues worldwide have the same issues, albeit on sliding scales.

If we had public transport links like Spurs or West Ham do, then you really would have a genuine complaint. Big matches bring big crowds, big crowds take a while to disperse. Fact.

[DB10GOONER]

Do what I do. Wake up at 4am. Have an ice cold beer. In the shower. Ignore wife's look of beamused disgust. Get the 6:30am redeye over from Dublin. Have 3 or 4 double vodkas on the plane to dampen down fears that you are fucking hurtling through the air in a steel coffin at 35000 feet and may plummet to firey death at any moment. Have fry up in Norf Laaahdahn at approx 10:30. Arrive at pub near ground at approx 12pm. Drink fuckloads of wifebeater. Attend game 15 minutes before KO. Arrive back at pub near ground straight after game. Have more beer. Wait for crowd to disperse. If doing day trip, run in a blind panic for tube, sprint through airport nearly puking, just about catch plane, stagger on board drunk and gasping for air whilst your new (and already seated) travelling companions all stare at you and your drunken mates like you are the worst cúnts on planet Earth. If overnighting in Laaahdahn, go to another 4 or 5 pubs, maybe a club, then late bar in hotel and get fuckfaced drunk. Wake up next morning, cold beer and fry up for brekky, and fly home dying with hangover and worryingly vague memories of that girl you spoke to in the club having a massive Adam's Apple and hands like shovels. When you slump in the door at home, looking and smelling like a freshly raped wino, say to wife that you "only had a few, must have got a bad pint somewhere..."