Arsenal bid farewell to Highbury, labeled the 'Home of Football' by its supporters, in May 2006, after 93 years.
The rise in the game's profile and increase in supporter base made it impossible to accommodate everyone's interests at the modest Highbury stadium, built on a site of the local St John's College recreation ground. The stadium was redeveloped twice but could not be extended beyond its capacity of 38,419 spectators.
The Highbury in the pictures that hang on the walls of the new stadium -- which can seat 60,432 spectators -- matches the mood of the north London suburb. Small, yet efficient.
"In our days, we used to get about 60,000 people even at Highbury since people used to stand on the terraces," remembers George. The largest attendance was 73,295 on March 9, 1935 when Arsenal drew with Sunderland 0-0.
The terraces came off and all the clubs were advised to turn to all-seater stadiums in 1990 by the Taylor Report, following the Hillsborough disaster. On April 15, 1989, 96 football fans died at a stadium in Sheffield when a terrace crashed due to overcrowding.
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