The Emirates Stadium was built for nights like this.
The men who masterminded Arsenal’s move from Highbury to a bigger, modern ground — including Arsene Wenger, Danny Fiszman and Ken Friar — were driven by the dream of such an occasion.
More than 60,000 raucous fans bore witness as an Arsenal team comprised of expensively acquired talent and homegrown academy graduates dismantled Champions League holders Real Madrid by three goals to nil. This is the future Arsenal fans hoped for when they said goodbye to Highbury.
The Emirates Stadium will be 20 years old next summer. This was surely its finest hour to date. The stakes, the quality of the opposition, the beauty of the goals and the emphatic nature of the scoreline ensure it stands alone.
The scene on Tuesday shortly before kick-off (Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Since Mikel Arteta took the helm at Arsenal, the Emirates has started to feel increasingly like home. Against Real Madrid, it felt like a fortress.
That the first two goals were scored by a player who cost in excess of £100million is an important part of the story. Arsenal switched grounds, in part, to ensure they could afford to compete for elite players such as Declan Rice. They suffered initially, with stadium debt placing them under considerable financial restraints.
That debt has been refinanced and the shackles loosened. Arsenal now have a privilege Wenger was never afforded: the ability to fuse Hale End graduates with some of the world’s most expensive players.
It has taken time. The pioneers behind the stadium move hoped for Arsenal to be more swiftly and more consistently competitive than has ultimately been the case. The years immediately after leaving Highbury saw Wenger balancing the books for an ‘austerity Arsenal’. Part of the reason the Madrid match ranks so highly is that Arsenal have yet to win a league title since leaving their former ground in 2006. They have not won a European trophy since 1994. There has been no obvious coronation at the new stadium.
Kylian Mbappe watches Arsenal’s players celebrate the third goal with their fans (Adrian Dennis/AFP via Getty Images)
The Emirates has thus far been defined mainly by moments. Fans fondly remember Thierry Henry’s return in 2012 and Reiss Nelson’s late winner against Bournemouth. Even some of their best wins come with caveats: the 1-0 victory over Manchester City in 2023-24 was not enough to stop Pep Guardiola’s team from lifting that season’s title. Similarly, the 5-1 thrashing of the same team in February came against a side whose powers were palpably on the wane.
The 2-1 win in 2011 over Barcelona was spectacular and unexpected, but order was restored with Arsenal’s elimination in the second leg. There have been famous victories against their north London neighbours — but then again, it’s Spurs.
Tuesday’s defeat of Madrid, however, felt utterly comprehensive — a quantum leap in the development of team and club. Arsenal’s detractors are quick to point out what they’ve not yet won, but this night was a timely reminder of how far they have already come.
The transformation of Arsenal has been as dramatic in the stands as on the pitch. Initially, the Emirates inherited the “Highbury Library” tag from its predecessor. Now, such taunts would barely be audible above the din of the home fans.
Arsenal’s supporters took things to another level against Madrid. Long before kick-off, the stands were packed.
“The atmosphere that we created 15 minutes before kick-off is something I haven’t seen before,” said Arteta after the game. “Playing with that energy, with that commitment with your crowd makes a huge difference.”
Arsenal have managed to fan the flames of support without extinguishing them through clumsy marketing or inauthentic messaging. They deployed a series of innovations for this Champions League quarter-final — drinks promotions, pyrotechnics, a light show and co-ordinated fan displays — all designed to augment rather than manufacture an atmosphere. Supporter groups such as Ashburton Army and REDaction were consulted throughout the process. Arsenal even declined to show live footage of the game on the concourse, incentivising fans to remain in their seats for every moment of the game.
(James McNicholas/The Athletic)
No one has stoked the fires of the Arsenal support more than Arteta. It’s Arsenal’s manager who demands the club continue to find ways to elicit more and more noise.
The result was a night that ended in delirium and disbelief and the surreal sound of Arsenal fans asking of Real Madrid: “Are you Tottenham in disguise?”
In some respects, the Emirates Stadium is being overtaken at the moment by a new generation of stadia. It no longer feels as shiny and new as it once did.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing. After two decades, the novelty ought to be wearing off. With each landmark victory, Emirates Stadium feels less like an alien spaceship that has descended on north London and more like the rightful home of Arsenal Football Club.
Against Madrid, Arsenal’s manager, players and supporters delivered its greatest night yet.
James McNicholas’ top five Emirates Stadium matches
5. Arsenal 3-2 Bournemouth, March 4, 2023
Reiss Nelson’s 97th-minute winner, completing a remarkable comeback from two goals down, was a moment that will live long in the memory. There was an explosion of relief, joy, and renewed belief that the title might just be headed back to north London. Ultimately, however, it was not to be.
4. Arsenal 1-0 Leeds United, January 9, 2012
This is another inclusion that is more about a moment than a game. Having left the club in 2007, Henry returned four and a half years later for a brief loan spell. He made the perfect return against Leeds, coming off the bench to side-foot home the winner in trademark fashion.
Henry celebrates scoring against Leeds in 2012 (Clive Mason/Getty Images)
3. Arsenal 5-2 Tottenham, February 26, 2012
Arsenal find themselves in the privileged position of choosing which 5-2 victory over Spurs they wish to include in this list, having beaten them by the same scoreline in successive seasons. It’s hard to beat the original, though: a storming comeback from 2-0 down to thrash their local rivals.
2. Arsenal 2-1 Barcelona, February 16, 2011
When Barcelona visited the Emirates in the last 16 of the Champions League, they brought with them one of the great teams in modern football history. Lionel Messi, David Villa, Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Dani Alves and Gerard Pique were all in Pep Guardiola’s XI. Somehow, a youthful Arsenal side — inspired by a sensational performance from 19-year-old Jack Wilshere — fought from behind to win the game 2-1.
1. Arsenal 3-0 Real Madrid, April 8, 2025
Straight in at number one, it’s the 3-0 trouncing of Champions League holders Real Madrid. And if Arsenal can complete the job at the Bernabeu, this first leg will be even more fondly remembered.
(Top photo: Alex Burstow/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)