The Arsenal Match Day Experience - visiting live from India

This is a brief account of my visit to the Emirates Stadium on 5th October 2024 to watch Arsenal vs Southampton. I travelled from India to watch Arsenal live and enjoy the match day experience for the 2nd time in my life. I hope this helps anyone who is contemplating going to watch.

A Little Backstory

I’ve been supporting Arsenal since before the Invincibles, sometime around 2000-2001. I remember crying in 2002 when Senegal beat France 1-0 in the opening game of the World Cup. I don’t care much for France now but back then supporting Arsenal made me have a strong affiliation for the French football team.

This matters because after the Invincibles and a few FA cups in between, we’ve really suffered. After a while it made me indifferent for a while. I visited the Emirates in 2016 for Arsenal vs Liverpool. It was the season opener and we lost 3-4. The fans were so angry that they threw the match programmes on the field at the full time whistle (we got free programmes since it was the opening day). I had overpaid for those seats which were club level and really good ones but the experience was one to forget.

Recent Past

Ever since Arteta took over, the journey has seen a new fire, a new energy not just in the team but also in me, as an overseas fan. I desperately wanted to undo the wrongs of 2016 and visit again to watch Arsenal in a happy environment where fans connected with the team at a deeper level.

Thanks to Arsenal Pune Supporters Club, I managed to get two tickets for the final home game of the 2022/23 season against Everton. I had applied super early and was so lucky to get the tickets. I found some tickets being sold for ₹100000 on the market, which was insane! I was so excited and confident to see Arsenal lift the title and enjoy the parade!

Sadly, fate had other plans for both Arsenal and I. Because of work troubles, I had to cancel my ticket (gave it back to the club and didn’t sell it online). And Arsenal didn’t win the league. Sigh.

October 2024

Earlier in the year, I signed up to attend a dog behaviour conference in Dublin (that’s my profession, I just don’t randomly seek dog conferences. Although, that would be cool too). So then I looked up the fixtures and saw an opportunity to visit. I was quite happy with the match choice, hoping for an easy win and a happy atmosphere.

Once again, the incredibly helpful people (also named Kapil. And Dheeraj) at Arsenal Pune Supporters Club helped secure two tickets to the match.

4th October 2024

I could barely sleep that night. I was living with my friend in London. The weather was beautiful, the sun was out all day and it looked like the sun would be out on matchday too. I went on many reddit and twitter threads looking at how to maximise the Arsenal experience on match day. Quite a few said to go to Tollington to drink beer before and then head to the match. But I’m not too much of an alcohol fan and I really wanted to soak in the Arsenal as much as possible.

5th October 2024 - The Arsenal Legend Stadium Tour

At 12 am, I signed up for a match day stadium tour with Arsenal legend Perry Groves. I reached the Emirates with little sleep but plenty of energy at 11 am, just in time for the tour to begin.

With Arsenal Legend Perrry Groves

The tour started with the director’s box and the diamond club (which is an invite only club). There was reserved table seating for Lords and I clicked a photo of Arteta’s table too. How I dreamt of being invited to be sitting next to him for dinner. I’ve been lucky in the past to have meals with celebrities but Arteta and Wenger would be my top two dream dinner guests.

1) Arsenal Pitch 2) Diamond Club flowers in colours of away team 3) Mikel Arteta's Table 4) Ready to take questions at the conference room

I was talking to one of the staff - Santiago during the tour. He was just helping the people and guiding them but he had a constant smile on his face. He said it was his dream to work at the Arsenal. And why wouldn’t it be! 

The tour then took us around different parts of the Emirates, including pitch side. The carpet. Man, the carpet. What a feeling it is to be next to the grass. It costs two million Pounds every year to maintain the grass. Expensive green stuff ;)

At the end of the tour, I got a sign and a photo from the legend and made my way to the Arsenal Museum, which is next to Arsene Wenger’s statue. The museum was quite interesting. There is so much richness to the club. So much class.

1) Arsene Wenger's Statue 2) Inside the museum

Arsenal Shop

When I entered the shop I was hoping that someone would steal my card and lock it up so I would not be able to buy anything. With great difficulty I only bought some gifts for Arsenal fans in Pune. There was this teal hoodie which I absolutely loved but I’m also Indian and cheap. I found out that the Adidas store sold it for 50% discount so I went to the store on Monday to get the hoodie! 

90 Minutes To Kickoff

I took my seat in the stadium well in advance to avoid the rush. Tickets are saved on the phone and the process is super easy and smooth to get in. There were a few shady people outside who looked like they may be selling illegal tickets. Do not go anywhere near them. 

View from my seat - Block 119 Row 8 Seat 798

Once inside, I just sat for 20 minutes admiring the view. I was so emotional. Our section was reserved for fans from around the world. My friend joined me a little later. We had a quick beer and came back to our seats to listen to North London Forever.

The Match

I would have preferred a straightforward win to be honest. 0-0 at halftime wasn’t great. And when Southampton scored in the 2nd half, I was fearing the worst. I’ve spent so much time, money and energy only to see Arsenal play badly and lose. I felt there was too much on the line for me personally for the result to not go my way. I was closer to the end where Southampton scored so the goal hit even harder.

Arsenal players gather for a corner

Luckily, just a few minutes after Southampton were punished after another misplaced pass in the defence and Kai finished spectacularly. Then Martinelli scored and then Saka so the final moments of the match were happy. But the overall match was nervy. There were a few key missing players but that’s something I can’t predict while booking a match.

From a view point of view, the seats weren’t that great. They are in the corner of the stadium and all the Arsenal goals happened at the other end. But these are the only seats available for international fans to buy legally and at face value. So it is something to consider. In hindsight, it would be nice to buy slightly more expensive seats to get a panoramic view since we’re already spending a lot to go to the stadium. But that’s not a conversation I can have with the club. I’m still very grateful that I could see the team play live! 

Successful outing!

After the match, we made our way to the nearest underground station and went home.

Overall Experience

Overall, I feel it is definitely worth going to watch Arsenal play live. But it is not something that I could do week in week out. I enjoy the cosy TV experience. The Arsenal live experience was too emotional and chaotic for me to do frequently. 

If I were to give it a score, I would rate it 8/10. 

How to get tickets?

Contacting local supporters clubs is the best way to get a ticket at face value. Make sure you ask them to apply well in advance. 

There are websites that sell 50 pound tickets for 300 pounds. I would not recommend doing that. There are too many scams in the world. Losing money this way would crush me. 

Costs

How much does it cost to go watch a match live?

Match ticket - ₹5000

Visa - ₹13000

Flights - ₹50000

Airport travel - ₹1500 Local transport - ₹350 for every ride

Stay - try to stay with a friend or family. London is expensive to live in.

Arsenal shop - you can spend anywhere from ₹1000 to crazy money to buy Arsenal jerseys and merch if you want.