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Looking back at Arsenal’s now defunct former home Highbury

Next up in our look at former homes of football clubs, it’s Highbury of Arsenal.

It was the home ground of Arsenal FC between 1913 and 2006 and was widely referred to as Highbury instead of Arsenal Stadium.

The first match at the stadium was between Arsenal and Leicester Fosse, which was played in September 1913. At that time the stadium consisted of one main stand and a series of terraces.

In 1925 the ground got bought by Arsenal and seven years later a new grandstand consisting of two tiers was constructed. The stand could seat 4,000 people and had standing capacity for 17,000 more.

Highbury’s record attendance was set in 1935, it saw 73,295 fans watch Arsenal draw with Sunderland.

1936 saw the art-deco style East Stand opened. In 1948 the stadium hosted a few games during the London Olympic Games.

During the Second World War the North Bank terrace was bombed and had to be rebuilt; the roof was not restored until 1956.

In 1991, following the Taylor Report, work began to convert Highbury into an all-seater stadium, however due to the ground’s limited capacity and lack of expansion possibilities (being enclosed by residential housing), the club started looking into moving away from Highbury, and in 2004 construction of the Emirates Stadium started.

The last league match at Highbury was played on the 7th of May 2006. The 4-2 victory over Wigan saw a hattrick scored by Thierry Henry.

After the club said it’s goodbyes, Arsenal Stadium got went on to be demolished and the site was redeveloped into residential flats. Just the exterior of the art-deco East Stand and West Stand have remained and were incorporated into the new developments.

For more classic photos and many memories of the ground from supporters, click onto the next page.

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