Emirates Stadium

Emirates Stadium is more than the home ground of Arsenal Football Club: it is a major landmark in north London and the setting for a defining change in the club’s history. The stadium stands in Holloway, Islington, a short walk from the site of Highbury, Arsenal’s former home. Visitors can experience it on a matchday or through the club’s stadium tour, but it is not a general walk-in attraction. Tour schedules, access and station arrangements vary, so checking Arsenal’s official visitor information before travelling is part of a successful visit.

From Highbury to a new home

Arsenal played at Highbury from 1913 until 2006. As the club’s support grew, the limits on expanding the compact stadium made a larger venue a strategic decision. Arsenal selected the nearby Ashburton Grove site, where construction began in 2004. The move was not simply a change of address: it reshaped the club’s matchday scale while keeping its home in the same part of London. For supporters, the transition joined a modern football ground to a neighborhood with more than nine decades of Arsenal memories.

The new stadium opened in the summer of 2006, and Arsenal’s first competitive match there was a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa on 19 August. The club’s official history describes the move as a step into a new era after 93 seasons at Highbury. The ground is built for around 60,000 spectators, giving visitors a sense of the scale that transformed the club’s matchday experience. The Emirates name comes from the club’s long-running partnership with the airline, which began in 2006 and includes stadium naming rights.

Highbury itself remains part of the story. After Arsenal moved, the former stadium was redeveloped as Highbury Square, while its listed East Stand and other historic elements were retained. The two grounds are close enough to connect on foot, making the neighborhood an unusually tangible record of change: one site carries the memory of Arsenal’s earlier home, while the Emirates hosts its present-day fixtures and stadium tours. The contrast is most meaningful when understood as part of the club’s local history, rather than as two unrelated attractions.

What a stadium tour offers

Arsenal’s self-guided stadium tour takes visitors behind the scenes in areas not normally open during a match. The club lists the Directors’ Box, Diamond Club, players’ entrance, home and away dressing rooms, players’ tunnel, pitchside, home dugout, interview rooms, press conference room and media lounge among the tour stops. A handheld audio experience is available in seven languages, including Japanese and French, and admission to the Arsenal Museum is included. The route and rooms available can change for operational reasons, so the official booking page is the reliable place to check what is included on a chosen date.

The museum adds context to the walk through the building, tracing Arsenal’s story through objects, images and club history. The tour is self-guided rather than a guaranteed meeting with players or access to the pitch during training. Arsenal also offers official souvenir photographs for an additional charge. Those details help visitors set realistic expectations: the appeal is seeing the spaces where match preparation and media work happen, and learning how the club presents its past, not entering every restricted area without limit.

At the time of review, Arsenal lists regular tour hours as 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, with last entry at 5:00 p.m.; on Sundays, tours run from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., with last entry at 4:00 p.m. These are baseline times, not a promise that every date follows the same schedule. The official page publishes exceptions for fixtures, internal events and guided-tour-only days. Check the date-specific notice and book in advance if the tour is central to your London plans.

Getting there and choosing a matchday

The club advises visitors to use public transport. Arsenal Underground station on the Piccadilly line is about a three-minute walk from the ground. Finsbury Park, served by the Victoria and Piccadilly lines and rail services, and Highbury & Islington, served by the Victoria line, Overground and rail, are each around a ten-minute walk. They may be less crowded at busy times. Transport for London’s journey planner can help compare routes, but check service notices close to departure, especially on a matchday.

Matchday operations change how nearby stations and streets work. Arsenal’s travel guidance says Holloway Road station can be exit-only before a match and may close for up to two hours afterwards; Drayton Park also closes on matchdays. Queues and pedestrian routes are managed around the ground. The club strongly discourages driving because the stadium sits in a residential area with event-day parking controls; there is no ordinary visitor parking solution to assume. If accessibility is important, check the club’s access guide: Arsenal station has no step-free route from the platforms to the exit, while the club identifies other nearby stations with accessible facilities.

Entry to a football match and entry to a stadium tour are separate experiences with different tickets and schedules. Arsenal’s matchday guide says admission is by digital pass or digital ticket and advises supporters to arrive well before kick-off; typical general-admission gates open two hours beforehand, subject to change for an individual fixture. League and cup dates can move for broadcast or competition reasons. Confirm the actual fixture, ticket instructions and local transport plan through Arsenal and Transport for London rather than relying on an old calendar or a third-party listing.

A visit rooted in north London

Emirates Stadium is at its most compelling when the building is read alongside its surroundings. Its size and modern facilities tell one story; the short distance to Highbury and the club’s continued links with Islington tell another. The stadium tour gives visitors a structured look inside, while a matchday reveals the neighborhood’s rhythms and the logistics that accompany a major event. Neither experience should be mistaken for unrestricted access: the stadium is a working venue, and its public opening depends on the club’s schedule.

For a smooth visit, decide first whether the priority is a match, a tour or simply seeing the exterior, then check the correct official page for that purpose. Reconfirm opening times, last entry, ticket requirements, accessibility and transport on the day you plan to go. That small amount of preparation leaves more room to notice what makes this ground distinctive: it is not only Arsenal’s present home, but also a window into how a historic football club carried its identity from Highbury into a new era in north London.