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North London forever
Since Arsenal fan Ollie Meikle was old enough to walk the short distance from his childhood home to Highbury, he’s been a fixture at games. Here he shares his memories of one of England’s great old grounds and explains why moving on was not as hard as it first seemed
INTERVIEW Lizzie Coan | PHOTOGRAPHY Jan Kruger
Interview
I could literally see Highbury from the back windows of our house — I grew up that close. It’s no surprise my dad became an Arsenal fan, passing it on to me in turn; he grew up a Coventry supporter but when you literally live in the shadow of the stadium, I don’t think you have much choice in the matter.
I started going to games when I was so young, I can’t ever remember a time where I didn’t go. My memory of my first game is minor but it’s so vivid – me and my dad walked round the corner to the game and because our stand was terraced at the time, I brought a little red chair to stand on so I could see. I think we won the game 4-1, but I don’t remember the rest because I got too scared, and my dad had to take me home at half-time. The policemen said they’d let him back in, so he left, dropped me home, and then came back because we lived so close. That was the sort of thing you could do back then.
I remember my first game at Highbury, and I also remember my last. It was against West Brom, we won 3-1, and I was feeling a real mix of emotions – happy because we’d outgrown the stadium and badly needed a new one, and sad because Highbury was a genuinely beautiful stadium and it had been such a symbol of my childhood.
It was such an old ground, with so much character, so much history, so many associations for me. Even in that last season, they hadn’t bothered repainting it and it was falling apart a little bit, but it still had all that old British football charm. What’s great is that the building itself is still there — it was a listed building so they didn’t knock it down, and I love catching a glimpse of it when I’m round the corner on matchdays.
I was pretty apprehensive about the new stadium, and that feeling didn’t go away for a while. It took quite a few years for it to properly feel like home. I remember walking in for the first time - the new stadium is a proper concrete bowl, whereas Highbury had so much soul, and I just remember feeling a bit deflated.
“Although I have such fond memories of Highbury, the new stadium is completely and utterly home now”
Thierry Henry's statue outside the Emirates
I’ve sat in the same seat for a very long time, and I know everyone around me now. The same steward has worked that area for as long I can remember, then there’s four or five season ticket holders around me who I always say hello to. That’s the nice thing about going every week – I don’t necessarily know their names but they’re familiar faces to me, I see them more often than I see some of my closest friends.
I sit in the corner by the corner flag, and when players score they usually celebrate in the other corner, but every now and then they come and celebrate right by us and it always feels like a treat. David Raya saved two penalties when we beat Porto in the Champions League this season, and he ran over to my corner. I felt like a kid again, I ran down to the front, jumping up and down and celebrating with everyone.
My dad doesn’t really go to games anymore, but that’s okay because I’m carrying on the family legacy for him now. I often go with my brother, and he sometimes brings his son, who’s 14 now but has been coming since he was tiny, just like I did. He doesn’t remember the old stadium – to him the new one is all there’s ever been – and it’s stuff like that that made me realise that this stadium is properly home now. I grew up with Highbury, it’s in my bones, but this stadium is mine, and ours, and has been for a long time now.
I started going to games when I was so young, I can’t ever remember a time where I didn’t go. My memory of my first game is minor but it’s so vivid – me and my dad walked round the corner to the game and because our stand was terraced at the time, I brought a little red chair to stand on so I could see. I think we won the game 4-1, but I don’t remember the rest because I got too scared, and my dad had to take me home at half-time. The policemen said they’d let him back in, so he left, dropped me home, and then came back because we lived so close. That was the sort of thing you could do back then.
I remember my first game at Highbury, and I also remember my last. It was against West Brom, we won 3-1, and I was feeling a real mix of emotions – happy because we’d outgrown the stadium and badly needed a new one, and sad because Highbury was a genuinely beautiful stadium and it had been such a symbol of my childhood.
It was such an old ground, with so much character, so much history, so many associations for me. Even in that last season, they hadn’t bothered repainting it and it was falling apart a little bit, but it still had all that old British football charm. What’s great is that the building itself is still there — it was a listed building so they didn’t knock it down, and I love catching a glimpse of it when I’m round the corner on matchdays.
I was pretty apprehensive about the new stadium, and that feeling didn’t go away for a while. It took quite a few years for it to properly feel like home. I remember walking in for the first time - the new stadium is a proper concrete bowl, whereas Highbury had so much soul, and I just remember feeling a bit deflated.
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“Although I have such fond memories of Highbury, the new stadium is completely and utterly home now”
Thierry Henry's statue outside the Emirates
I’ve sat in the same seat for a very long time, and I know everyone around me now. The same steward has worked that area for as long I can remember, then there’s four or five season ticket holders around me who I always say hello to. That’s the nice thing about going every week – I don’t necessarily know their names but they’re familiar faces to me, I see them more often than I see some of my closest friends.
I sit in the corner by the corner flag, and when players score they usually celebrate in the other corner, but every now and then they come and celebrate right by us and it always feels like a treat. David Raya saved two penalties when we beat Porto in the Champions League this season, and he ran over to my corner. I felt like a kid again, I ran down to the front, jumping up and down and celebrating with everyone.
My dad doesn’t really go to games anymore, but that’s okay because I’m carrying on the family legacy for him now. I often go with my brother, and he sometimes brings his son, who’s 14 now but has been coming since he was tiny, just like I did. He doesn’t remember the old stadium – to him the new one is all there’s ever been – and it’s stuff like that that made me realise that this stadium is properly home now. I grew up with Highbury, it’s in my bones, but this stadium is mine, and ours, and has been for a long time now.
I started going to games when I was so young, I can’t ever remember a time where I didn’t go. My memory of my first game is minor but it’s so vivid – me and my dad walked round the corner to the game and because our stand was terraced at the time, I brought a little red chair to stand on so I could see. I think we won the game 4-1, but I don’t remember the rest because I got too scared, and my dad had to take me home at half-time. The policemen said they’d let him back in, so he left, dropped me home, and then came back because we lived so close. That was the sort of thing you could do back then.
I remember my first game at Highbury, and I also remember my last. It was against West Brom, we won 3-1, and I was feeling a real mix of emotions – happy because we’d outgrown the stadium and badly needed a new one, and sad because Highbury was a genuinely beautiful stadium and it had been such a symbol of my childhood.
It was such an old ground, with so much character, so much history, so many associations for me. Even in that last season, they hadn’t bothered repainting it and it was falling apart a little bit, but it still had all that old British football charm. What’s great is that the building itself is still there — it was a listed building so they didn’t knock it down, and I love catching a glimpse of it when I’m round the corner on matchdays.
I was pretty apprehensive about the new stadium, and that feeling didn’t go away for a while. It took quite a few years for it to properly feel like home. I remember walking in for the first time - the new stadium is a proper concrete bowl, whereas Highbury had so much soul, and I just remember feeling a bit deflated.
“Although I have such fond memories of Highbury, the new stadium is completely and utterly home now”
Thierry Henry's statue outside the Emirates
I’ve sat in the same seat for a very long time, and I know everyone around me now. The same steward has worked that area for as long I can remember, then there’s four or five season ticket holders around me who I always say hello to. That’s the nice thing about going every week – I don’t necessarily know their names but they’re familiar faces to me, I see them more often than I see some of my closest friends.
I sit in the corner by the corner flag, and when players score they usually celebrate in the other corner, but every now and then they come and celebrate right by us and it always feels like a treat. David Raya saved two penalties when we beat Porto in the Champions League this season, and he ran over to my corner. I felt like a kid again, I ran down to the front, jumping up and down and celebrating with everyone.
My dad doesn’t really go to games anymore, but that’s okay because I’m carrying on the family legacy for him now. I often go with my brother, and he sometimes brings his son, who’s 14 now but has been coming since he was tiny, just like I did. He doesn’t remember the old stadium – to him the new one is all there’s ever been – and it’s stuff like that that made me realise that this stadium is properly home now. I grew up with Highbury, it’s in my bones, but this stadium is mine, and ours, and has been for a long time now.
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