1. Why you were looking forward to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):

I was really excited about the trip because going to ‘one of the big 4’ away is an exciting prospect for most away fans. I wasn’t expecting much on the pitch but I was looking forward to seeing the stadium itself.

2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking?

The journey was easy as we took an express train to Euston and took the tube, we got lost but it wasn’t my fault. Honest! However getting off at Arsenal tube station (finally) you will encounter a sea of red and white merchandise being sold and from then, it’s easy.

3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?

We went to a busy pub opposite the stadium itself which allows away fans. It could be deemed intimidating for away fans as there is a large number of home fans, but on this occasions, there was a group of Bolton fans that we joined.

4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then other sides of the ground?

My first impression of the outside was ‘wow’. It is really big and has a similar feel to Wembley. When I reached my seat I realised it was a padded seat which was a bonus! My complaints are how close the two sets of fans are to each other, just a narrow bar with a small number of stewards occupied. This led to unwanted banter between the fans. Also, the stewards told you sit down frequently, which can be irritating.

5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, facilities etc..

The game itself was a game of two halves, the first was good but it all fell apart in the second half, Robin van Persie scored his 100th league goal and it finished 3-0 to Arsenal. The atmosphere was great in the home ends, Bolton didn’t bring a lot of travelling supporters so it was subdued in the away end. The stewards were helpful at the turnstiles, helping fans with the ticket machine but got irritating after telling us to sit down. I didn’t test the pies because of how expensive they were!

6. Comment on getting away from the ground after the game:

The tube station queue was massive after the game, luckily we were staying over so we took an over ground train, which was easier.

7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:

Great stadium, great atmosphere but poor result.