While world events are changing how we all have to enjoy our footy this season, there’s no reason why we can’t have remembrances of times past and plans for the (hopefully soon) future, and that means taking into account just how great of a time one can have when they spend the day in and around Highbury and the fourth largest football stadium in England, before and after Arsenal takes the field.
It’s proximity to the city centre means it’s relatively easy to enjoy the sites and sounds of England’s capital, so no matter how you want to enjoy your evening, nothing is off the table. There are plenty of pubs near the stadium and in Highbury itself, and depending on how well the match turned out, and if you had some pounds invested on the result, you might have to enjoy yourself properly with some sexy London Escorts found online. A celebration can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes after spending it with sixty thousand people strong in Emirates Stadium.
Getting There
With Islington and North London in general just outside Zone 1, it’s going to cost you a bit more to get to the Holloway Road and Arsenal underground stops on the Piccadilly line, and the Highbury & Islington stop on the Victoria Line. Since it’s only a few stops north of King’s Cross St. Pancras station, it might be easier to just walk from there if the sun’s out and you had plans to stop for a bite or a pint on the way to the stadium. This is especially true when one considers it’s only going to get busier and more expensive the closer you get.
If you are wondering about parking, then you clearly are out-of-towner, and please trust us when we say don’t even bother! There are strict restrictions on match day, and during the game, there is a ban on vehicles on many of the roads surrounding the stadium.
It still means that the underground and overground lines will both be quite congested, so give yourself plenty of time to get to the stadium area, and don’t mind the shoulder-to-shoulder experience inside the train. There might not even be space to sip a flask!
Emirates Stadium Itself
You don’t know how much better it can get until you experience it, and for nearly fifteen years, this stadium has been one of London’s crown sporting jewels. It was a difficult journey, trying to expand the old stadium with a bond scheme to raise money from supporters, and being told repeatedly by local residents that building a new one would require too much tearing down of the neighbourhood. That a rubbish plant and an industrial estate was purchased for the eventual location shouldn’t be seen with too much symbolism. It took years to get approval from the local council to break ground.
For a while paying for the stadium was putting quite the strain on the club, with ticket prices going through the roof. Depending on how many wealthy fans come from France, Germany, or elsewhere, you might have to become a trans-continental sugar baby online in order to afford a seat.
However, in the end, it was clearly worth it, and in October 2006 the stadium opened to universal praise for its unique design. The contoured shape of the roof was meant to provide high levels of proper airflow and sunlight onto the pitch. The club museum can be found at the north end of the stadium, with many of the marble statues of former players transferred over from the old Highbury stadium.
’Arsenalisation’ arrived a few years later (although that sounds like something you might find in RPG sex games), and it involved a celebration of the club, trying to better link its long and towering past with its bright future. At the sound end of the stadium, ‘The Spirit of Highbury’ shrine was erected, depicting all the players who took the pitch for the team in its one hundred year history. The massive murals that encircle the stadium of 32 legendary players create the effect of them appearing to huddle around the massive structure.
Fans were able to vote for the 12 Greatest Moments in Arsenal’s history, and additional murals were created to despite them. Statues of Tony Adams, Thierry Henry, and Herbert Chapman can be found outside the stadium.
Taking in Highbury and Islington
While Emirate Stadium is only two miles from Kings Cross and therefore an easy trek from anywhere in London, you can’t go wrong by coming to Highbury and Islington early and making a day of it. Around the stadium are plenty of proper pubs for a pint, and while we didn’t mention they could be packed on game day, that’s sort of the point! One of the closest establishments is ‘The Howling Cow and the Fat Bird’, and if those two things on the menu (especially the hot salt beef sandwich) doesn’t get your mouth watering, their ales will. The Nag’s Head and the Old Red Lion will also be fine choices.
The change in the neighbourhood from what it used to be only a few decades ago has been remarkable. You don’t have to travel far from the stadium to come across plenty of options beyond the typical pub grub (not to knock the classics, but it’s great to change things up).
To lower the energy a bit, Camden Passage is a fine pedestrian space that becomes a bustling marketplace on weekends, as well as a permanent spot for some cheese shops and fishmongers. It’s a great addition to the typical game day that you normally wouldn’t have expected.
