Spirit of Highbury : the legacy of Arsenal

The last ever game at Highbury

As Thierry Henry lined up to take the penalty 14 minutes from time on the 7th May 2006, Arsenal fans at the Highbury stadium were distracted of sorts. With the gunners leading 3-2 and their capitan at the spot they were not too worried, instead, most of them were listening to the radio to hear the commentary at Upton park where Spurs played West Ham United.

With both rivals competing for fourth and the final champions league spot, and with Tottenham having the advantage going into the day, it was imperative that Spurs lost and Arsenal won. Fans watched with bated breath as Henry took his long run up and jumped with joy as he smashed the ball into the left corner of the net. As Henry knelt to kiss his sacred turf goodbye, the whole of Highbury and perhaps everyone watching the game, rose to salute the king and Arsenal FC.

The atmosphere became one of pure ecstasy when news of West Ham’s winner trickled in. Arsenal had come good. The last match at Highbury stadium was probably one of the most dramatic and one of the greatest moments for any Arsenal fan. Arsenal had qualified for the champions league, they had beaten Spurs in the table, king Henry had scored a hat trick and Arsenal had won. Probably the only downside to this whole day was the fact that Arsenal would no longer play at the Highbury stadium, a stadium which remains an integral part of the club’s history.

Highbury was Arsenal’s home from 1913 to 2006. It was the stadium which was built when Arsenal moved to North London early in the 20th century as they grew bigger and better. After being rebuilt in 1930, it became one of England’s finest stadiums. All of the Gunner’s 13 first division premier league titles and 10 FA cups that Arsenal have won in their history, were in the Highbury era and after Old Trafford and Anfield, had the richest history.

From Chapman to Adams, to Wenger to Henry, this iconic stadium had seen many such greats who had done wonders for the club. The stadium also was the home of generations of great football teams who played under the crest of the cannon. Players came and went, jersey colors changed and fans born and died, but the passion of the gooners has carried on from Highbury into the Emiates stadium.

It was the stadium which saw the boring but reliable defensive minded Arsenal team transformed into a team weaving triangles and parallelograms around the opposition dancing with the ball on the football pitch, poking around for gaps and finally when one was found, slice the defense with a definitive pass into the legs of one the league’s best strike partnerships, who more often than not, put the ball in the back of the net. This mindset is what made Arsenal both different and feared in Europe during the Henry era and still continues to enthrall supporters worldwide.

It was a loss to leave Highbury but the pressures to do so were too great. With an ever-expanding fan base in England and rest of the world, the quaint 35000-seater for a club of Arsenal’s stature was no longer in the question. Then came public opposition to expand the ground so it was decided that Arsenal move out of Highbury into Ashburton grove.

But highbury has not been forgotten, a process of ‘Arsenalisation’ of the Emirates stadium was begun to fill the void left by the departure from Highbury. Seats were painted so as to form a symbol of the cannon, murals celebrating the greatest moments in the club’s history were commissioned inside and outside the stadium. The stands were renamed so as to bring back memories of the original North Bank stand and Block stand and most importantly, the original clock from Highbury’s clock end was shifted into the Emirates where it would remain forever.

Those lucky enough to have visited the Emirates would have also seen the Spirit of Highbury shrine which depicts every player ever to have played at highbury for Arsenal.

Even though most Arsenal fans wish to watch at least one match at the Emirates, many still regret not being lucky enough to watch a match at the Highbury stadium.

Even though most of the original stadium has been demolished and only one stand still stands, Highbury would always be pristine and magnificent as it once was in the heart of any true gooner!

The deeper the foundation, the stronger the fortress : spirit of Highbury shrine

Spirit of Highbury shrine