It always ran like clockwork on match days at Highbury and as a creature of habit, I liked that. As usual I'll get cod and chips from the Arsenal Fish Bar and as usual I'll smuggle them in to the Tavern. As usual I'll meet my Dad and the boys from the Supporters Club in the Tavern and as usual we'll stand around talking about Arsenal and nothing else.
But that's where the old traditions will come to an abrupt end. That's where things are going to change. There are so many things to work out. What time will I need to leave the Tavern in order to get to the stadium with my customary 25 minutes to spare? Where will the 'two for a pound' gummy sweet guy have his stall set up? Where will the old programme seller from outside the Clock End be selling programmes? I know that I'll get my bearings quickly and that there will be a seamless transition from the old to the new.
It will be with mixed emotions that I make the trip to watch my Arsenal tomorrow. On one hand tomorrow will be a celebration of everything that is Arsenal. For the first time in my life, at the age of 32 and after seven years on the waiting list I will be watching an Arsenal match as a season ticket holder.
It's a shame that I never got to be a season ticket holder at good old Highbury but I'm proud and excited to be one at our magnificent new home. I've seen so many great games and incredible goals in that cosy stadium and it's formed such an important part of my life. Some of my earliest memories are of cold winter days stood in the North Bank with my Dad and it's a shame I'll never get to share that same feeling with my daughter who at two is still too young to go to watch football.
Unlike many Arsenal fans I didn't feel any sense of grief or sadness or loss at the
