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1. Why you were looking forward
to going to the ground (or not as the case may be):
Me and a friend made the trip and were looking forward to seeing the brand new
and modern Emirates Stadium and we more hoping for than looking forward to our
first league win of the season.
2. How easy was your journey/finding the ground/car parking:
We travelled down by train from Sheffield and we caught the tube (£5 for zones
one and 2 all day access) from kings cross to Arsenal station and the ground was
about a 10-15 minute walk, just follow the crowds and you will be fine.
3. What you did before the game pub/chippy.... home fans friendly?
We got into London around 08:45 after a long train journey which commenced at
05:45 and we caught the tube to Finsbury park in the hunt for a breakfast café,
it didn't take long there was one opposite the 12 pins pub called Finsbury Bites
and we both had a full English breakfast and a cup of tea which was delicious
and only cost £4.50! The place was clean and had friendly staff. I would
recommend it to any away fan who gets there early and fancies a bite to eat. We
then went on the search for a pub that was open early so we could watch the golf
and the early kick off match this surprisingly would be harder than we thought,
we started off in Leicester Square and virtually nothing was open pub wise till
12pm. We headed off to Covent Garden and found a Walkabout bar and was packed
full of Australian rugby fans watching a match that had started early in the
morning who we enjoyed some good banter with, the game was near it's end and the
fans soon dispersed when it finished, these fans were gradually replaced by
variety of football fans and we settled down and watched the first half. We left
here about 2pm to give us plenty of time, we caught a tube from Covent garden on
the Piccadilly line and was full of Blades and Gunners and the banter soon
started which was hilarious, this continued from Arsenal tube station up to the
ground and we wished each other good luck when we parted.
4. What you thought on seeing the ground, first impressions of away end then
other sides of the ground?
We were on our way to the ground walking through past a row of houses and bit by
bit we saw this beautiful ground unfolding before us, it really did take our
breath away, we saw all the Arsenal fans enjoying pre-match beverages and snacks
through the glass that seemed to surround most of the ground which we in turn we
followed suit.
5. Comment on the game itself, atmosphere, stewards, pies, toilets etc..
We got into the ground about 20 minutes before kick off for a quick beer and the
queues went down very quickly and we were in our seats within good time. When we
walked through the gangway, we were again in awe. The ground seemed to get
really high at each side the swoop down low into the corners but with the roof
staying he same height which let a lot of light in. We found our seats and were
amazed at the amount of leg room and cushioned seats something we are not used
sat on the Kop at Bramall Lane. The stewards were lenient and let us share some
banter with close neighbouring Arsenal fans without any hassle. The game started
off pretty well on our part with our defence seeming to stop Arsenals swift
passing quite easily and we went in 0-0 at half time. We queued for a another
beer and a pie, again we were not waiting long. The second half started and
Arsenal or should I say Thierry Henry stepped up a gear and the inevitable
happened with him skilfully setting up William Gallas. 15 minutes, an own goal
and a Henry header later we went 3-0 down and that was the end of that. The
Atmosphere from our sell out away following was good up until the own goal, the
home support was a bit subdued and very quiet but I will not judge them yet as
it is a new ground and will take time to settle in.
6. Comment on getting away from
the ground after the game:
This was quite frustrating, with the shear amount of fans heading for the same
places it took quite a while to get to the tube station where the police were
sifting people through bit by bit to prevent congestion under ground, we were on
our way 10-15mins later and got to Kings Cross safely where we found a pub
called the duke of York and this shows all the prem plus games and we watched
the tea time kick off while we waited for our train with. We sat wit couple of
Arsenal fans and talked about the game for an hour and enjoyed yet some more
banter regarding our respective managers!
7. Summary of overall thoughts of the day out:
All in all the result was the only bad thing about the day but that didn't get
us down to much as we were expecting worse and the day out was 1st class and
would recommend it to any one who is thinking of making the journey.
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