From Canada To London: Here’s What You Need To Know For A Visit To Watch The Arsenal.
You’re a Canadian Gooner and you’ve been lucky enough to snag some tickets through Arsenal Canada for a game this season (or for upcoming seasons) congratulations! No doubt you’re pumped to make the trip to London, and with the travel distance, chances are you’re taking a few days out of your schedule for it. Here are a few tips and things to know when visiting the Emirates.
Getting to and from the game: Underground stations near the Emirates.
When travelling on matchday, catching the tube (or a train) is with-out-a-doubt the best option for getting to the stadium (and getting around London generally). Here are the closest options:
Arsenal: Piccadilly Line.
Holloway Road: Piccadilly Line.
It’s a toss-up between these two for the nearest underground station. These stations will get very busy an hour or so before kick-off so getting there early for this, and the other reasons mentioned below, isn’t a bad idea at all.
Finsbury Park: National Rail, Piccadilly & Victoria Lines.
Highbury & Islington: National Rail, Overground Line, Victoria Line.
These two stations above will be less crowded but further away, so be prepared to walk around 15 - 20 minutes from either. Most likely 20 upwards on a matchday.
Of course you can also catch a bus or an uber, but traffic will likely be heavy on a weekend or evening of a game. For public transport the TFL website is an easy way to determine your quickest route into N5.
Catching the tube immediately after the match ends can be a nightmare sometimes. Holloway Road underground station is usually closed so a lot of people make their way to Arsenal, Highbury & Islington, or Finsbury Park.
If heading up to Highbury & Islington there are places you can stop to grab some food and drinks, and let the lines for getting into the station quieten down. Finsbury Park is the furthest but usually tends to be the least busy. Regardless, I would recommend finding somewhere to kill a bit of time if heading to a tube station. Having a cheeky post-game beer, especially if we win, is always a good shout in my opinion (see below).
Pre/post match pubs:
Soak up the atmosphere before and/or after the game at a pub close to the stadium. There are a number in the area:
The Tollington: Probably my top recommendation, I have been here a few times pre-game. It gets busy though and you usually need to show proof of ticket upon entry.
The Gunners: Another pub I frequented back in the day and located close-by Arsenal tube station.
Twelve Pins: Located along Holloway Road. I must confess I have never been, but have seen ot crop-up as a suggestion and I hear it is usually less busy than the former two.
The Famous Cock: This place is located right next to Highbury & Islington so a good option to grab a beer if you have the time to walk down from the station. It’s also a great option for a stop post-game whilst waiting for the line into the station to die down. Heads up though, it does get extremely busy after games.
Alternatively, head to the stadium early before it gets super busy in-and-around the ground. Grab a drink before the bar lines are crazy busy and then watch the players warm-up which is usually around half-an-hour before KO.
Picking-up Swag:
With the quality of merchandise the club has been dropping the last few seasons, I’m sure a trip to the Armoury - the official Arsenal store - is on the cards. Here’s the thing. If you want to visit on the day of the game, it gets BUSY. Either get there very early or visit on a non-matchday. If you are in London for a few days, and you have the time, I definitely recommend the latter for a less hectic shopping experience. If not, try to get there a couple of hours before kick-off.
F.Y.I. If traveling via Finsbury Park there is a smaller fan store just outside the station which might be slightly quieter.
Where to stay in London:
If staying in a hotel I recommend anywhere in Zone 1 of the London underground and near a tube station (see map). The Piccadilly and Victoria lines will be the best as there will be no need to change lines if tubing to/from the Emirates. However, as long as you can get to Kings Cross / St. Pancras fairly easily then you can change lines at this station and it is easy to do so.
Stadium Tours:
The club offers stadium tours to fans and it is pretty reasonably priced from what I can remember. Check-out the players entrance, the changing rooms and standing on the touchline as well as looking around the hospitality suites. It also includes entry to the Arsenal Museum. In my opinion it is a pretty cool experience. There is an option to do it as a self-guided audio tour, or with an Arsenal legend guiding you around the stadium in person. Both options run pretty regularly, but I believe there are limited slots for the Legends Tour. There’s plenty more info on the club website: https://arsenaldirect.arsenal.com/tour/emirates-stadium-tour
Although there is an option to do a tour the morning of a match, I feel it’s better to do it on a non-matchday as you get to see more and Legend Tours are not available on matchdays.
Photo source:author
Beware of ticket scams:
Lastly, you weren’t able to get tickets for the match you wanted - or for the time off you have already pre-booked - at the time of applying for tickets. It happens. It is a commitment and requires some pre-planning to travel all the way from Canada after all.
So, you’re already going to be in London, or have decided to make the trip anyway, regardless of having tickets or not. There will be plenty of people offering you the chance to scalp tickets outside the ground or online through social media. Please DO NOT buy tickets this way. You are highly likely to get scammed. It is something the club is really clamping down and they are making touting very difficult - so chances are these tickets are fake. Even if they are legit you will be paying outrageous prices.
My advice would be to try on the ticket exchange through the club website. You will need a membership to do so. And yes, it is extremely painful and time consuming to constantly refresh the page. But closer to kick-off - 36 hours in advance right up until even an hour or so before kick-off - tickets will pop up on there and be available for the original ticket price.
If travelling with someone else it will be very difficult (pretty much impossible) to get tickets next to one another on the TX, however you will at least be able to get into the stadium to watch the match without paying an arm and a leg for a ticket that is most likely fake.
If this all sounds familiar then chances are you’ve seen the Instagram live posted by Arsenal Canada earlier this season. However, it never hurts to have it in written format in case you need to refer back to it at any point. Hopefully this proves helpful to those travelling across the pond from the Great White North. COYG.
About the Author
Oliver Reeves is a marketing volunteer and a contributor to Arsenal Canada. This Blog was written for Arsenal Canada as an opinion blog feature. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views, and members (unless otherwise stated in the article), of Arsenal Canada. Check out the rest of the Arsenal Canada Volunteer team here.
