The former Arsenal player who represented the club at both the iconic old ground and the modern arena has made clear which venue footballers would choose. Mathieu Flamini argues that any professional would opt for the Emirates over Highbury because of its significantly larger spectator capacity. Having featured at both locations during his time in north London, the French midfielder believes athletes naturally prefer performing before larger audiences.
With the new Premier League campaign approaching, Arsenal enter as the defending champions. Mikel Arteta’s squad achieved their long-awaited league success last year, overcoming Manchester City to secure a title they had not won for more than two decades.
The club’s previous championship came during 2004 when the team still occupied Highbury. In 2006, after almost a century at their traditional home, they relocated approximately 500 metres to their current stadium.
Flamini, who represented the Gunners between 2004 and 2008 before returning from 2013 to 2016, acknowledged that while the matchday experience transformed for supporters, those on the pitch benefit from the superior facilities.
In comments to The Times, Flamini noted the intimacy of Highbury where spectators stood mere feet from the action. Nevertheless, for a club operating at elite European level, a maximum attendance of 38,419 proved insufficient.
The club spent precisely 93 years at Highbury, establishing themselves there in 1913. Once the venue transitioned to an all-seater configuration, it struggled to generate the commercial revenues of competitors such as Manchester United. An expansion proved impossible due to the East Stand’s protected status, prompting the 1999 decision to develop a purpose-built stadium on a different site.
The club’s proprietors at that time comprised Arsenal Holdings plc, a publicly listed company overseen by an investor consortium. Key figures included businessman Danny Fiszman, Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith, and former vice-chairman David Dein among others.
After briefly exploring a potential acquisition of Wembley, the club revealed plans for a stadium at Ashburton Grove, an industrial zone. The complete expenditure reached approximately £390million, financed through banking facilities, a sponsorship agreement with Emirates airline, and the conversion of their former headquarters into an exclusive residential project known as Highbury Square.
Planning continued for several years before construction commenced in 2004, the same season Arsenal claimed their third Premier League crown as the legendary Invincibles. Two years afterward, the Emirates Stadium was completed.
May 2006 witnessed Arsenal’s final competitive fixture at Highbury before conversion to residential use commenced. Dennis Bergkamp’s farewell match conveniently served as the unofficial inauguration of the club’s new headquarters.
Flamini described the new stadium in glowing terms when revealing his preference. He explained that the ambience would inevitably shift, yet from an athlete’s perspective, the choice between 30,000 and 60,000 spectators was straightforward. He indicated that any professional would select the larger audience given the option, mentioning the adrenaline rush as the deciding element.
The transition immediately enhanced Arsenal’s matchday earnings, which rose from roughly 30 percent of overall club revenue to almost 50 percent. During 2007, ownership dynamics shifted as American entrepreneur Stan Kroenke and Russian magnate Alisher Usmanov commenced acquiring shares from board members.
Kroenke, through his organisation Kroenke Sports and Entertainment, ultimately purchased Usmanov’s residual shares in 2018, securing complete control. Prior to this consolidation, the stadium project’s financial burden created challenges. Substantial debt repayments severely limited transfer spending for former manager Arsene Wenger throughout much of the following decade.
Wenger departed eight years prior and was succeeded by Unai Emery, whose tenure spanned just over twelve months before Arteta assumed the position. The stadium favoured by Flamini now once again serves as headquarters for the Premier League holders, hosting the season’s opening fixture when recently promoted Coventry City arrive for Friday evening’s encounter.