Watching the Gunners! Arsenal 1 - 1 Everton 8 December 2013

We were fortunate to be able to go watch our favourite football team play Everton yesterday. This is the third time that we have managed to see the Gunners play at the Emirates Stadium in London.

The kick-off was at 4pm so we left at 2pm hoping to miss the crowds. We did however see some fans on the subway. We caught the tube from Leicester Square to Arsenal along the Piccaddilly line, which was about a 30 min trip for us from WC2N5BY.

Outside the Arsenal station, there were foodstalls and stalls selling Arsenal memorabilia. People were also selling the official match programme. This was the first time that there were 4 different covers on the programmes and 50p goes to the Arsenal Foundation.

It's a short walk to the Emirates Stadium from the Arsenal station. There is an official clothing shop outside. Then you need to cross the Ken Friar Bridge, you can see the glorious stadium from the bridge.

It is a beautiful stadium, rather over-whelming with its large Arsenal signs.

Athol with his favourite ex-player Dennis Bergkamp.

There was a statue of ex-Arsenal legend Tony Adams - in one of his famous stances.

Also, there was a statue of Thierry Henry. These statues have only recently been put up so its the first time that we've seen them. The last time we were here was in October 2009 for our honeymoon when we saw two games! :)

We were lucky to get seats on the lower level right along the half way line facing the players tunnel.

We could even see the players warming up before the game.

I even managed to get a picture with the Arsenal mascot Gunnersaurus.

Before the game began, the crowd was asked to applaud for one minute in honour of the late Nelson Mandela.

It's always great to watch a live game, the atmosphere is incredible. The crowds always chant and sing. Everyone goes crazy when a goal is scored. Everton goalkeeper, Tim Howard, was given a yellow card for wasting time since they were happy with a draw.

Mesut Ozil scored late in the second half but then Everton scored shortly thereafter to tie the game. We also saw Pienaar play for Everton, he is from South Africa.

There were long queues of people by the Tube directly after the game, so we decided to go grab a bite to eat to avoid the crowds. By the time we left, there weren't any queues :) A fun filled day! even if it was a draw.

                                              

Highlights of the game can been seen at: http://player.arsenal.com/matches