I GREW up in the George Graham era. I did my time. Watching players like Eddie McGoldrick and John Jensen chase long-balls against the backdrop of the North Bank mural.
I remember basking in the glory of the seven-goal stuffing of Standard Liege, endlessly repeated on the big screen. And running on to the pitch after we beat Torino in the quarter-finals of the Cup Winners’ Cup. Can you imagine running on the pitch now? You’d be Asbo’d from Islington.
From 1992-95 I went to almost every home game, and so did my mates.
Junior Gunners’ tickets were £5 and affordable. You could buy tickets on the day and as a bored teenager it became a great freedom to, emblazoned in red and white, catch the 253 down to Finsbury Park on a whim and join in proceedings.
Teenagers these days haven’t got a hope. Want to see your heroes? It’s £20 to join the Junior Gunners, up to £18 a game – if you can get through on the phone – and you have to book months in advance. A top price seat for an adult at the Emirates is £94 – that’s one pound a minute, including extra time.
A spokeswoman told me this week: “We have regular consultation with our supporters and ticket prices are always mentioned as a key concern. We are proud of our pricing policy.”
But a price like that is a
disgrace. What else has quadrupled in price in the last decade? The terraces are sapped of enthusiasm, tinged with frustration. And no wonder – the privilege costs a day’s wages. That priceless rush of adrenalin only comes in the big games – and don’t they know it? The streaming system means added expense for you to see the big boys – Man United, Chelsea, Liverpool and, bizarrely, West Ham.
The demolition of Highbury – profoundly transformed into posh flats and that has bound our legacy inextricably to a random airline – was the beginning of the end for me.
So what can be done to sway the corporate tide at Emirates?
In the Gooner, the faithful Arsenal fanzine, a top business analyst unveils his plan to replace a section of the lower tier with smaller seats. This would create an extra 10,000 junior tickets, he writes, and without affecting the design. Tickets could be bought for a tenner – it would even generate an extra £6.5 million each season.
Sounds good to me, but I would suggest priorities lie elsewhere.

Is he right? What do you think? To let us know your views just email us at:
sports@camdennewjournal.