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Arsenal Football Club, one of the most iconic and successful football clubs in England, calls the Emirates Stadium its home. With a rich history and a passionate fan base, attending an Arsenal match is an unforgettable experience for any football enthusiast. To make the most of your visit, it’s useful to understand the Emirates Stadium seating plan, the best places to sit, and how to navigate the local transport options.
Stadium Overview
As a newly built (relatively speaking) stadium, completed in 2006, the Emirates does not have some of the issues older stadiums have, such as seats with restricted views. There is no ‘bad’ seat in the entire place but people will of course have their preferences. Some fans prefer being close to the halfway line as it gives them a more even view of the pitch whereas others prefer a ‘behind the goal’ perspective. Neither is inherently better than the other, it is purely down to personal taste.
Like most stadiums, the Emirates has four main sections, the North Bank, the East Stand, the West Stand and the Clock End (south). Away fans sit in the lower tier of the southeast corner, while the rest of the stadium is allocated for the home fans. There are also four levels to the stadium, going from lowest to highest, these are the lower tier, club level, executive box level and the upper tier. Helpfully, Arsenal’s website shows you what the view looks like across each of the levels and each of the tiers. Thanks to this you can get a great idea of what section will work for you before you purchase your ticket.
Best Seats for Atmosphere
Arsenal’s loudest fans tend to sit in the North Bank Lower or Clock End Lower. This is where you will find the most noise and the singing of Arsenal’s most famous songs. While this is your best bet if in search of a good atmosphere, just be mindful that the level of noise is not consistent. Usually the bigger the occasion, the better the atmosphere.
Best Seats for Transport
Although the Emirates is well connected by public transport, the nearby options are not designed to cope with 60,000 people needing to access them at the same time. If you decide to leave a game a few minutes early to avoid the rush, you should be able to beat the queues at the nearby Arsenal tube stop (Piccadilly line), located just north east of the stadium, close to the club shop. So, the closer your seat is to this, the more likely you will be to avoid the inevitable rush.
If you are sitting close to the south west of the stadium, Holloway Road is the closest tube stop. If you intend on heading westbound though, you may well find it is already packed full due to the fans getting on at Arsenal station.
The busy westbound carriages are why many fans, when leaving at full time, will walk the extra distance to Finsbury Park. Here supporters can get on before others waiting at the Arsenal stop. Finsbury Park is also a better-connected spot because it is served by not only the Piccadilly Line but also the Victoria Line, plus it also has National Rail services (going as far as Brighton and Peterborough). This is hardly a secret among Arsenal supporters though, so it does get very busy unless you beat the rush.
Best Seats for Price
Arsenal have some of the most expensive ticket prices in the Premier League so it is usually a fairly expensive day out. When thinking about which game to attend there are two factors that will impact ticket prices, the category of the match and the location of the seat. The below table lists prices for adults (not all areas included).
| Area | Cat A | Cat B | Cat C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Upper Tier | |||
| Centre Upper Back | £103 | £59.75 | £41.40 |
| Wing Upper | £90 | £53 | £37 |
| Corner Upper | £90 | £53 | £37 |
| Goal Upper | £96.75 | £56 | £39.25 |
| Family Enclosure | £93.50 | £54.50 | £38 |
| Lower Tier | |||
| Centre Lower | £77.25 | £43.75 | £31 |
| Wing Lower | £70 | £40.25 | £28.50 |
| Corner Lower | £70 | £40.25 | £28.50 |
| Goal Lower | £70 | £40.25 | £28.50 |
| Family Enclosure | £70 | £40.25 | £28.50 |
As you can see, if you want to visit a game on a lower budget, the lower tiers are always your best bet regardless of the game category. We strongly recommend not buying tickets from unofficial marketplaces. The club itself warns against this and tells fans who purchase from such sites that they may be refused entry.
Best Seats for Views
Although it is subjective as we said before, many would agree that the best seats are those situated at Club Level. These sites strike a great balance of being low enough that you can see the action in good detail but sufficiently high up that you enjoy a full view and get a picture of the formations and tactical approaches. Club Level tickets do tend to come at a considerable expense though, partly due to the limited supply. Outside of this, the most popular place to sit is along the lower rows of the upper tiers.
There are of course many fans that relish being close to the action, particularly along the longer sides of the pitch. While a perfectly good option, it is worth noting that although all seats are under the roof, there is very little overhang. This means if the rain is coming in at a bit of an angle, the front few rows facing the wind can end up rather cold and wet.
Buying a Ticket
Given the high demand for a seat at the Emirates Stadium for most matches, there are two main options most supports have for getting a ticket. One is to pay for a hospitality package as these are available to the entire public. They regularly sell out early though and will set you back a minimum of £420 per person (Club Woolwich – booked as a pair) but most likely £600 or more. The more affordable option is to simply become an Arsenal member. Red Membership can be purchased for just £34 per season and this gives you access to the ticket ballots for each Arsenal home game and enables you to buy/sell on the Ticket Exchange.
There are no guarantees through this method, unlike with a hospitality package, but it does allow you to get a seat at a regular price. This is because fans sell tickets on the Exchange for face value, never higher. For some less popular fixtures, you may be able to select from a range of seats but for a Premier League game, you cannot afford to be picky if you want to attend.
