17th of November 2012
aka The Day I Saw The Arsenal
"Ooh ooh ooh to be, ooh to be a Gooner !"
I think those who know me well enough would know that The Arsenal is one of the main reasons why London was my first option when I realised I had the opportunity to study in the UK. Other than London being, well.... London.
I'm grateful that I'm in Manchester though, don't get me wrong! The people are great, I love my friends (Malaysians, Brits, Europeans, Asians... you name it) and the cost of living is much more affordable in comparison to London. But one thing thats lacking is;
My beloved football club.
Before I went to Berlin (which I know I have yet to write about, but I haven't had the time to edit the pictures... been busy!) I did plan on getting tickets to the North London Derby, but upon seeing that the sales open during my time in Berlin, I sort of just gave up because I knew I wouldn't have the time to fight for tickets when I was there.
Luckily enough, a friend managed to score one for himself and... lucky me!
So yeah basically I now owe him my left kidney if he ever needs it at one point in his life....
We took the 6.55 am train to London on the 17th of November. and reached our destination at around 9-ish. Had breakfast (nasi lemak!) at the Malaysian hall in Bayswater and straight away headed for The Emirates stadium.
I've only been to the stadium twice (first with family, second; by myself because I'm a loser like that) but never during a matchday! I will be honest and say that the atmosphere outside the stadium isn't as lively as it is outside the Old Trafford, but it may be because the stadium was right smacked in the middle of the city and the stadium ground is much larger in comparison.
The only downside of the matchday itself, I would say, is the absence of scarves detailing 'Arsenal VS Tottenham Hotspurs'. You find stalls / people selling match scarves everywhere around the Old Trafford and The Etihad on their matchdays, but unfortunately enough, not on ours.
My friend, Syafiq and I were desperate for a piece of souvenir to bring back for ourselves because it was my first official Arsenal match ever (the ones where they came to Malaysia doesn't count, obviously) and its a friggin' North London Derby. Like, tickets to NLD are hard to get by. The tickets for this match in particular sold out in like, an hour or something (I wouldn't know coz Syafiq was the one who queued online to get them. Ehm.).
Being the distressed Gooners we were, we spent 10 pounds to get printed tickets when we could've just got in without having to pay extra for them by using our membership cards. (-___-")
Lets just say that that was THE best 10 pounds ever spent on a piece of paper;
Priceless.
Both times that I've been to The Emirates before, I never actually entered the stadium. So I had no idea how it looked like, other than from the photos I've seen.
And let me just tell you that it looks about a bajillion times better to see it in front of you, on a matchday, with seats filled, greeted by the chants of thousands of Gooners. There is nothing quite like it.
I never actually told anyone this; but I honestly teared up. FOR REAL you guys.
Okay, so it was one teardrop, but yes, I was just that happy.
The Emirates stadium is... fucking amazing. I'm really sorry about my choice of word, but this stadium just IS. I've only been to Old Trafford and The Etihad before, and its safe to say that both pales in comparison.
It may be a biased opinion, and it might just be a North London Derby thing; I don't know.......
..... and I don't really care either.
Going to stop myself from doing a write-up of the entire match, but I will tell you that we hardly ever rested our throats; chants just keep coming and coming and it is just the best thing ever to finally be a part of it, after years of just hearing them coming out of the speakers of your television set.
The energy was... A-MA-ZING. But that word just begins to describe how it really is at that moment. I can't think of a word to better represent the whole situation... you would simply have to experience it for yourself to get a gist of what I'm (trying) to say.
:-)
Another Gooner from up North (Scotland I think). She came alone, and I really don't mind doing the same in the future if I have to, really.
This is frankly just a really lame photo, (lets just all admit it) but WHATEVER IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW I LOOK LIKE ITS WHERE I AM THAT COUNTS!
Overall, it was a magnificent day. Gripping match (NLDs always are) that eventually ended with a 5-2 win for The Arsenal.
My first time ever watching The Arsenal at The Emirates and I get to see a North London Derby versus Tottenham Hotspurs, and we won. Big.
How 'bout that for a first experience, eh?
:-)
Till we meet again, beautiful.