Last weekend, I watched my second ever football match at the Emirates Stadium, one of over 56,000 in attendance to watch Arsenal Women take on Chelsea Women in a London Derby.
My first match day at the Emirates saw around 24,000 in attendance to watch Arsenal Women take on Aston Villa Women. Having had a relatively smooth entry procedure into the Emirates last time, I decided to arrive at the stadium around 15 minutes before kick-off. I soon realised how big a mistake that was as I saw long queues of people still trying to make it into the stadium when I arrived. I must make a mental note to arrive earlier for my next game!
I already thought that 24,000 attendees created a powerful level of noise. I was not prepared for how different the noise level would be with the stadium filled with 56,537 people. Like my first match, there was a unifying echo of cheers, boos and gasps – but this was a lot louder. More thunderous. It is hard to put into words, but the louder the noise, the more emotion I felt behind the crowd.
Club Level
I wanted get sets in different areas of the stadium for different games so I can find an area which I prefer watching games from. Last match at the Emirates, I sat near the centre line in near the back of the section above the players’ tunnel. For this game, I got “Club Level” tickets.
Expecting something similar to the hot dogs and bangers and mash which I had last time, I was surprised to see that the catering had levelled up. No hot dogs for me this time. It was a tasty scampi and chips pre-match, and sampling the steak at half time.
The improved catering and the free drinks at half-time did give the match experience a bit more of a premium feel. That, and the whole environment at Club Level, looked a lot nicer than the lower level of the stadium. Entering at the Club Level entrance, I received a free matchday programme before taking an escalator up. Gone was the utilitarian concrete architecture. Instead, nicely tiled flooring greeted me as I stepped off the end of the escalator.
“Oh, come on, ref!”
Not to be a sour grape, but it was disappointing to end the game with a 1–1 draw when Arsenal had been denied goals due to questionable refereeing. Admittedly though, the questionable refereeing went both ways. Stina Blackstenius had a perfectly good goal disallowed for an alleged handball. Potential fouls seemed to go unnoticed.
The unified moans and groans of the home supporters as Arsenal were denied goals was unexpectedly loud. Hearing the reaction of the crowd whilst watching a match on television pales in comparison to being right in the thick of the booing of the officials as they left the pitch after the match.
I also learned that there was no VAR for this game, which is quite a shame considering the mistakes going both ways that the officials seemed to have made. We can only wonder whether the match would have ended with a different outcome if VAR were in place.
Would I sit at Club Level again?
My ticket for the Aston Villa game cost £17.00. My ticket this time for Club Level cost £50.00. At nearly three times as much, I think I would still buy tickets for Club Level again.
It is not that sitting in the lower tiers of the stadium was not an enjoyable experience, but I felt that the experience was simply more enjoyable at Club Level. For example, if it got a little too cold for your liking, you could always head back inside and sit in the catering areas, warming up whilst watching the game on the television screens. I did not notice that the lower tier areas had any seating unless you were back out in the stands.
I am tempted to put my existing ticket for Arsenal Women v Liverpool Women in Block 30 on the ticket exchange and buy a new ticket for Club Level again. But I probably should not, as I still want to experience matches from different areas of the Emirates Stadium – at least for a few more games, before I decide on a favourite spot.