Farewell My Lovely!

Cast your mind back to the late seventies and early eighties. Do you remember singing 'You are my Arsenal' to the tune of 'You are my sunshine'? The last line was 'Please don't take my Arsenal away'. Did you ever imagine you would see Highbury looking anything like it does in the snap above?

I'm indebted to another Gooner, Dave, for the photo. Last Sunday I couldn't bring myself to walk round and look at what was left of the old girl. It's become too distressing an experience. The emotional attachment is still too strong.

So what is the point of this almost painful look at the past. It's just that. Highbury is in the past now. Only the bare bones of the art deco architecture to east and west of the site remains. The North Bank and Clock End are gone for ever. It's time for us oldies to move on.

We are the lucky ones, we knew what a stadium it was on big match days, we can remember that first view when our dads/uncles/older brothers first took us. My grandkids first experience will be in the twenty-first century arena that has now sprung up across the road. Ashburton Grove will be as spiritual and fantastic to them as Highbury was to us.

Fittingly, some have suggested that last Sunday's contest was the first big match memory that will live in the minds of those who were there. I'm not so sure that is necessarily the case, but every time we go to the Grove it looks and feels a little bit more like home. It's a ground fitting for the Arsenal, grand and spectacular with first class facilities.

No, they haven't taken my Arsenal away. We've just moved from our fabulous little terrace, to a luxurious new palace, and we're just taking a little time to settle ito the grandeur of our new abode. I'm rather glad I'll have memories of both.