Arsenal fan Roger Daltrey has opened up about his club's move to the Emirates Stadium and revealed why he still doesn't like the ground.
The Who singer Daltrey was on the pitch for the final match at Highbury against Wigan Athletic in 2006 to sing for the crowd. The 2023/24 season will be the 17th at the Emirates Stadium – but Daltrey still isn't keen on the ground and misses the old one, which is a stone's throw away from the new venue.
"My son and I have still got season tickets but I’m not keen on the new stadium," Daltry told FFT. "One of the problems is that when Arsenal moved away from Highbury, they split up all of the season ticket holders.
"When you’ve been going to games together for 25 years, it’s like being in a club: nobody can be offended by anything anyone has said; it’s a jolly-up and a get-on-with-life situation. Instead of transferring us in blocks to create the same atmosphere at the Emirates, they threw us into seats.
"I went along for the first few seasons and thought, ‘I’m not enjoying this any more – it’s a bit like going to work’.
Instead of going to the ground these days, the legendary rock frontman says that he watches matches in the pub these days – but that he does admire the way that the Gunners' biggest rivals have built their new ground.
"I usually watch games in bars now; I watch more in America than I do back home," he says. "When Arsenal were in the Champions League, it was quite funny because I couldn’t get it and every hotel bar had a big screen with sports and was showing basketball or something. It’s amazing what $100 does to a barman.
"When you watch on television, some grounds work better than others. You have to give it to Tottenham: they’ve got a s**t team but by God, they’ve got a great ground! Now that is a football ground – they’ve done a clever job there.
"There are microphones, everything is amplified, and it must be an incredible vibe in the stand. It would make a good shopping mall next season!"
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Jurrien Timber looks to be next to join, Moises Caicedo is heavily linked, Xavi Simons is on the radar, Ivan Fresneda could join, though Arsenal could sell £100m worth of players, too. Romeo Lavia is in the crosshairs – though Liverpool want him, too.
Meanwhile Folarin Balogun is being valued at £50m.
