A night at the Emirates: Arsenal V Brentford
A cold night in North London and an arrangement top meet up with friends for a pre match pint, but to enjoy the pre match drink one has to navigate door staff to whom you have to prove you’re an Arsenal supporter.
When you reach the ground you are herded like cattle through turnstiles after having a body search.
Once in the ground one is treated to a selection of overpriced refreshments and of course any alcohol you do buy (in plastic glasses) you have to drink before going to your seat. Speaking of seats, they are basic and give little room to manoeuvre. My seats were perfectly situated to see the back of a cameraman and his assistant who sat in my sight line which made for a frustrating viewing experience. But it got worse as whenever Arsenal staged an attack the cameraman stood up and blocked even more of the view.
A half time toilet break was a urine soaked wade to the urinals following a long queue.
What struck me was that, for a premium price point the contempt in which the “consumer” is held is completely skewed.
Now I’m not talking about luxury, VIP treatment, just equitable treatment. The supporter being of value commensurate to the cost of admission .
I can think of no other sport, theatre, opera, ballet, cinema or performance art where the customer is so devalued. Perhaps pop concerts, but as I don’t attend them I can’t vouch for that.
My take away is that I may have to remove myself from the experience. This brings me no joy, but I assume that when one turns up week after week one gets used to it.
It seems that my only alternative is to win the lottery and buy a premium ticket or a box. That’s not me feeling entitled but feeling that we are all entitled to be treated correctly as, without us the club is nothing.
The thing that saddens me most, but also bolsters my conclusion is that going to the Arsenal is mostly about meeting friends. Good people. Honest people. People that you can talk to about the Arsenal and those talks lead to other conversations about all manner of things.
I think that the lesson I’ve learned is that the social aspect is of more value than the game experience, in as much as in the first, respect and having a good time is a major factor and in the former one feels that a lack of respect for fans diminishes the enjoyment of the game
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having said that;