Game Twenty Seven - Arsenal v Fenerbahce (Champions League Group Stage)

5th November 2008

One of my main regrets in football was that I never got to go to Highbury before it was closed and Arsenal made the move to the Emirates Stadium. It was a classic old ground and I've always admired the way that Arsenal play the game in the right way. Whenever they take to the pitch, you know you are getting 'The Beautiful Game' in it's purest form. Pass and move. Options all over the pitch and all 11 players want to get a foot on the ball. Very different from the usual standards we're used too following Leicester!

And so on a whim, I looked into getting tickets for a random game and found that tickets were available for the Champions League group stage match against Fenerbahce and a quick check on trains to make sure I could get home and the decision was made! Johnstones Paint Trophy to Champions League action in 24 hours!

And so, still tired from the late night before at Rotherham, I set off from work and headed to the station for my train down to London. This had the potential to go horribly wrong with tubes and trains to negotiate and no way home if something went wrong so military precision was needed!

A quick doze on the train and a nice easy journey later and I was in London with the remains of the rush hour traffic and the 60,000 or so Arsenal fans all clamouring to get to the stadium. I had a rough idea of where I was heading so quickly made my way down to the tube platform and have never seen such a crush as bodies were flying around trying to squeeze onto the already overpacked tube. Two came and went before I managed to squeeze myself in and arch my back to allow the doors to close. Thankfully, I was only travelling two stops or I could have come out of London looking like The Hunchback of the Walkers Stadium!

Arrived at Finsbury Park station and made my way out following the mass of red. Bought a programme and went in a smaller version of the club shop and then realised I appeared to be nowhere near the ground and so set off on the 10 minute or so walk to the stadium. A road sign pointed me in the right direction and I made my way through the streets with no sign of the stadium at all.... until I went under a railway bridge and was greeted by the bright lights....

.... how can a stadium like this creep up on you? Unbelievable! Turkish fans lined the area outside and there was a real friendly atmosphere only usually associated with friendlies and everyone was out to have a fun night as flashes from cameras and the fireworks overhead kept lighting the streets up.

A quick phone call to Sez, someone I'd met on a football forum site years ago, and we arranged to actually meet up for the first time at half time as it was only 15 minutes from kick off now.

I found my turnstile and was greeted by a huge concourse and yet no idea where I had to go to find my seat which was situated in the upper tier behind the goal. An endless amount of stairs left me with that same feeling the first time I went into the upper tier of the old kop at Filbert Street for the first time... I remember being young at the time and so it seemed to take an age to get up to the second concourse. Finally though, your ready to step out and see the pitch for the first time.... and what a view you get.

Simply breathtaking! The Fener fans were situated to the right and were already warming up their vocal cords as I made my way up the 37 rows to get to my seat right near the back.

Now Ive known that the atmosphere wasn't meant to be great at some of this stadium and when I got to my seat I found out why. The seats are just too comfortable. Padded seats! Back rests past your shoulders! Major leg room! I've sat in arm chairs that were less comfortable than those seats!!

Within minutes of arriving, the players emerged from the tunnel and the famous champions league music was played over the tannoy sending a shiver down my spine. Already it was proving to be worth the cost and time and the game hadn't even kicked off yet! The Fener fans worked hard to get an atmosphere going and they happily amused themselves singing and bouncing around like nothing I'd ever seen before - a joy to behold just as Dave had told me they would be.

The game kicked off and Arsenal immediately went on the attack, passing the ball around like we could only dream of doing. For the first five minutes, the ball never left the Fener half and the only time a player in anything other than a red shirt touched the ball was when an outstretched leg deflected the ball away from it's intended destination. They just couldn't cope... and yet the goal remained unthreatened apart from one Van Persie effort that just drifted wide. A few free kicks from wide positions offered a more positive threat and from one of these, a loose ball fell to Fabregas whos dangerous cross was well palmed away by the Fener keeper to the feet of Van Persie who saw his shot deflected over the bar by a defender throwing himself in the way.

Van Persie was dominating the attack and he once again found himself in a scoring position only for the keeper to touch a shot onto the crossbar. Volkan was having a brilliant game between the sticks and it was only him and the dogged defence keeping the gunners at bay.

As half time sounded, I made my way down to the concourse and grabbed a quick bite to eat before waiting for Sez to arrive from wherever she was seated. When she finally did show up, we said hi and chatted like we were old friends who always hung out together which was great - you'd never have never known we hadn't met before. Turns out that she'd saved me a seat next to where her season ticket seat is, as one of her friends hadn't been able to make it, so I walked all the way around the stadium to her seats where I was introduced to her Dad and mate, Scruffy. And the view from where they sat was simply amazing (and so it should be for £1,250 a season ticket!!). The best view I've ever had at a match as it blew me away - the pictures don't do it justice at all.

The frustration on the pitch continued to grow as Arsenal always attempt to score the perfect goal and refuse to shoot when in a prime position. Even Cesc Fabregas who would score from miles out last season was always looking to play the ball through rather than have a crack. Technically though, you have to say they are superb. They hammer the ball around and control it in a second. They're also so aware of the positions of players around them.... runs were made all over the place but as soon as they stepped offside, there was no way that they would receive a pass. Not once in the entire game were they flagged offside!

Not many chances came though in the second half. The closest they came was a corner swung in that was headed just over his own bar by a defender as Eboue looked to give Arsenal the vital lead.

As the game wore on, it became more clear that there were to be no goals as Fenerbahce defended for their lives and had no chance of breaking the deadlock themselves. Disappointing not to see the celebrations of a goal but chatting to Sez during the game had been great so it was definately worth the trip down to London.

As the final whistle blew, I made my way out with those three and we made our way back to the main road in the direction of Finsbury Park tube station. This was where I said my goodbyes to Sez and her dad and thanked them for a memorable night before jumping onto a tube back to St Pancras.

My train wasn't till 11:15pm so I had an hour to kill at the station so grabbed something to eat and relaxed in the rather nice cafe in the modern area of the station - highly recommend checking it out although I imagine the novelty will be gone when it's rammed like it normally would be. In fact the only people at the station could all be captured in one picture - not bad for one of the busiest transport networks in the country eh?

I was exhausted by the time I got on the train and found myself sat opposite a couple of Arsenal fans who spotted my Leicester scarf early into the journey. That started the conversation up and up until Luton (where they got off) we exchanged tales from our random trips around the country, or in their case, the world watching the teams that we love. Of course their tales of Champions League finals and away days in Portugal and the likes kind of left mine in the shadow but it still broke up the journey and the rest of the journey seemed like an eternity as the effects of the last couple of days really started to kick in and it took all my effort to keep my eyes open. A quick taxi back to Syston and then I came to the realisation that I had college deadlines to meet so at 1:35am, I cracked open the books and ploughed on with it... what a way to end a mammoth trip like that!

What a stadium, and a great chance to meet up with an old friend for the first time. I'll be there again before too long with any luck.... and next time, it'll be with my usual random away day companion. Whilst I will never be able to go to Highbury, this in some ways helps to make up for it. Remember, remember the 5th of november..... the day the ghost of regret was laid to rest.

Arsenal? Done!