Much like my ‘Blog from the Bridge’, this new series will endeavour to give Chelsea supporters an insight into away days with the club, starting with a trip to the Emirates and Arsenal. For every away game I attend, I’ll give details on the journey to the game, a stadium summary and of course the atmosphere. Enjoy!
Journey to the game: Arsenal at the Emirates
To start off the season, a short trip is always welcome, so a London derby fitted that requirement perfectly. A quick trip on the Piccadilly Line up to Arsenal tube station took less than 20 minutes from Charing Cross – even if it was slowed down temporarily due to some excited away fans.
The walk from the station to the stadium was simple enough, arriving into the outer concourse within a few minutes. That said, it was slightly surreal walking through rows of terraced houses, only to turn the corner and see a 60,000-seater stadium. Overall, one of the simpler journeys in the league (and thankfully one of the cheapest too!).
Stadium summary
Coming from a relatively small stadium, many other ground seem large in comparison. The Emirates, however, as much as it pains me to say it, is perhaps one of the best in the country. It manages to encompass both a modern arena, while also maintaining a semblance of tradition too.
Of course, with it only being 15 years old, it is always going to feel new and improved compared to others. Even so, it’s an impressive structure and one I could only wish for in West London.
Moving onto the inside, I must now give an important caveat to this game. As frustrating as it was, I saw the game from the perspective of the home fans. I know, I know, this is meant to be an ‘away days’ column, and it will be in the future.
But unable to get a ticket in the Chelsea section for this fixture, I turned to the next best thing – a friend with a season ticket. Whatsmore, said season ticket is in the hospitality section of the stadium, meaning I witnessed Chelsea destroy the Gunners from the best seat in the house.
It was the perfect height, able to see the whole pitch without feeling too far away. Additionally, the legroom was genuinely astonishing – at least from what I’m used to in the Matthew Harding where my knees are compressed beyond belief.
Arsenal 0-2 Chelsea: Game review
Credit where credit’s due: for the first 3 minutes the noise around the Emirates was spine-tingling. But that was about it. Despite being the opposite side of the stadium to the away fans, they remained louder and more consistent throughout.
Thankfully, while I was not among the away supporters, I did have the pleasure of seeing Lukaku’s debut goal right in front of me and the speed with which he found his way into a goalscoring position was incredible to witness.
As has been pointed out repeatedly since the game, the main feature was Reece James’ ease with getting the ball on the right flank. It felt like Groundhog Day every time I looked over to see the right back in acres of space. The home supporters around me also noticed it and it’s fair to say they weren’t best pleased.
The second goal came as easily as the first and once again a satisfying hush fell around me. By half time, it was one way traffic and it was a relief for most in my section that Chelsea hadn’t scored more. Boos rang out across the stadium and I had a brief smile to myself – things were going well.
After the interval, things were much the same and, unlike many other games, I felt truly relaxed watching the second 45 minutes. Never did I feel as though we were going to throw the game away. Never was I worried when Arsenal got a corner, or a free kick. Whether that was due to Tuchel’s tactics or Arteta’s lack of them I’m not sure, but it worked either way.
As the game progressed, I first noticed fans leaving in around the 70th minute. By the full time whistle, it was no more than 25% full – a damning verdict on a woeful performance.
Things you don’t see and hear on TV
Possibly my favourite unseen moment was the banner in the Chelsea end which read: ‘Champions of Europe Section’. The sly dig at the home supporters didn’t go unnoticed and I heard a few muttering remarks about it throughout. Accompanying it was the ‘We see things they’ll never see’ banner with two Champions League trophies – a throwback to the Chelsea social media pages after the UCL win.
While not the most dramatic ‘bottle from fans incident’ on Sunday, there was a brief confrontation after Chelsea’s second goal. A fan threw the bottle at Reece James but, cool as ever, the right back kissed the badge and Rudiger chucked the missile off the pitch.
In regards to chants, there are a few notable ones I’ll mention here. The new ‘Rome, Romelu’ song for the recently arrived striker was a welcome one. So too was an old favourite in ‘Fabregas is magic’, as well as ‘You’re going down’. My personal favourite, however, was ‘Is there are a fire drill?’ being sung at full volume as streams of Arsenal fans left the stadium early.
The reaction to that was summed up best by a man behind me who, after saying nothing all game turned to his friend and said: ‘I wish there bloody was.’
The perfect day: a Chelsea win, a Lukaku goal and another reminder that London is Blue.
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Written by Noah Robson (@noahrobson_)
Edited by Tom Coley (@tomcoley49)
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