RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO – Arsenal FC
DATE – Saturday 5 November
KO TIME – 3pm
THE GROUND – Highbury Stadium – click here and here for maps of the area – the red circle shows where the ground is.
STADIUM CAPACITY 38,500
AWAY TICKET ALLOCATION 2,600
TICKETS
Tickets for this game are sold out and there will be no general sale.
Away supporters are allocated seats in the lower tier of the Clock End and the adjoining corner of the West Stand – the police conrol room is right inbetween the two, so no misbehaving!! The front rows of each aren’t under cover though, so if it rains you’ll be getting wet.
GOING BY CAR?
From Sunderland take the A690 then A1/A1(M) southbound then M1 southbound.
Leave M1 at jcn 2/3 – the A1 turnoff. Stay on the A1 Archway Road to Holloway Road before turning left onto the A503 Seven Sisters Road. Stay on for about one mile and then take a right onto the A1201 Blackstock Road which leads to Highbury Park. Turn right into Aubert Park before another right into Avenell Road.
Warning! There are a lot of ‘residents only’ parking schemes in the area – park inappropriately and risk your car getting towed away. Best bet is to park further away and get the Tube to the ground or leave the M1 in Bedfordshire/Hertfordshire and get the train into Euston from a station on the West Coast mainline – eg Leighton Buzzard, Tring, Hemel Hempstead, King’s Langley, Watford Junction etc.
GOING BY TRAIN?
The 0754 GNER service from Newcastle will get you into London Kings Cross at 11.15am, the 8.33am gets there just after midday or the 8.58am gets there at 12.26pm, giving you time to find your way to the Highbury Library and have a drink before kickoff.
Going home, the 1915 GNER gets you to Newcastle at 2247 or the 2015 gets you there at 2348.
Train times and ticket prices available online at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk
The nearest underground station to Highbury is, unsurprisingly, Arsenal station on the Piccadilly Line; Finsbury Park (Victoria line/Piccadilly line) is about 10 minutes’ walk away but gets less crowded. Click here for a Tube map in pdf format (Adobe Acrobat).
A.L.S. TRAVEL?
ALS coaches leave at 7am on the day and it’ll cost you £25 – call 0191 5654422 for details.
WHERE TO DRINK
The Drayton Park, next to where the away coaches park, is away fan friendly. You could also drink at the Highbury Barn but you’re advised to hide your colours. Also the White Swan (Upper Street) or Tommy Flynn’s (Holloway Road).
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
There are ATMs in Kings Cross station. Other than that, the nearest ones to the ground all charge £1.50 per transaction – Shivas News on Highbury Road, Arsenal Supermarket on Blackstock Road and Costcutter at 63 Highbury Park.
HEAD TO HEAD
Closer than you’d think, overall. Arsenal and Sunderland have met 118 times in the League – we’ve won 43 and they’ve won 42, with 33 draws.
LAST MEETINGS
Prior to the two teams’ most recent meeting for this season’s League Cup…
11.05.03 Sunderland 0 Arsenal 4
06.11.02 Arsenal 2 Sunderland 3 (Kyle, Stewart 2 – LC3)
06.10.02 Arsenal 3 Sunderland 1 (Craddock)
30.03.02 Arsenal 3 Sunderland 0
27.10.01 Sunderland 1 Arsenal 1 (Schwarz)
30.12.00 Arsenal 2 Sunderland 2 (Phillips, McCann)
ARSENAL’S RECENT FORM
Sunderland 0 Arsenal 3 (LC)
Arsenal 1 Man City 0 (Prem)
Sparta Prague 0 Arsenal 3 (EC)
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1 (Prem)
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 (Prem)
Ajax 1 Arsenal 2 (EC)
Credits: Arsenal FC official website, National Rail, Soccerbase, www.multimap.com, Link.
