An Arsenal Life; Gooners, Emirates and All

I wasn’t too dejected though as I began my journey of sightseeing around the city and country.

We also got pushed out of the Carling Cup by those Manc’s; I wasn’t too surprised by the line up, but 3-0? Can’t say Arsene surprised me either with the non-shake saga, but I’m not a fan of Mark Hughes or City, and as Mark Bosnich said, “we live in a democracy not a dictatorship”. All of a sudden, Stoke looked like being one of the biggest games of the season, merely to get momentum back going.

Friday came around and I had a booked a spot on the Emirates Stadium tour. As I was guided around the magnificent stadium by the tour director we went everywhere from the directors box to the change rooms to pitch side. It was great, and we even bumped into the legendary Kenny Samson.

Some of the things about the stadium and running of the club were almost amazing, including the fact that the captain chooses whether the whole team where long or short sleeve and that the stadium is only one of two in England and the only one in the Premier League that have padded seats for every person.

Meanwhile, some things were just unbelievable, one of those being that the middle row of the stadium (the very thin one), is for supporters who pay the club around 20-25,000 pounds per season! Some 600 pounds per game or so.

After picking up some souvenirs from the Armoury gift shop I checked out the museum before heading home. I was exhausted but thrilled with the day that had been and the day ahead.

It was just on 2pm and after enjoying classic fish and chips with some English friends at Covet Garden, I headed back to Emirates for the third time, this time with a loyal Gooner.

Our seats were in Gate K, bottom tier this time, and when I saw that we were behind the goals, slightly to the right, I was pleased that I was going to get a taste of another experience. The Stoke fans had accumulated in the away bay and when they began to chant I had a feeling this might turn into a sing off. It pretty much did.

After dominating early and a missed sitter by Arshavin, the Russian won a penalty. We went mad when it was given, and it was the perfect position to watch it from. Cesc stepped up in RvP’s absence as we all held our breath. As he hit it to the Sorensen’s right, and the keeper saved, we all went down as the Stoke support went up.

Jeeeeeeeeeeees, Cesc (he’s my fantasy captain too!). I started to wonder if it was just going to be one of those nights, like West Ham a few seasons back when we lost our first game here at the Emirates. I prayed it wouldn’t.

Arshavin was all over the place and when Cesc slipped him the ball just outside the box, we all stood up in anticipation. The Russian stood strong though and slid it into the bottom corner. YES! Joy! Cue the chants of “One-nil to the Arsenal, one-nil!”. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant!

Then almost immediately a deflected Rosicky cross bounced of the upright and right into Cesc’s direction. Here was an easy one for two-nil! Then a sound of utmost disbelief, the captain whacked the ball into Emmanuel Eboue, with an open goal at his peril. Amazing stuff. 1-0 at the break.

Things did get worrying when Rosicky and Eboue went off at around 45 minutes; more worrying when Stoke had a decent chance through Tuncay but Gallas was there to ensure no danger. The Stoke fans found their voice again, but a few were too loud, as police removed some, intoxicated supporters. This led to a few “Cheerio, Cheerio, Cheerio” chants, all in good fun of course, *cough*.

Aaron Ramsey came off the bench to score the second and seal the win, thank goodness! Two contrasting games with two contrasting results.