Written by Jonathan Chong on Monday, August 24, 2009

Since it opened, Arsenal's new stadium has been criticised for lacking a bit of soul and history, with many labelling it as too corporate and not a structure that really identified with the history of the club. The club thus embarked on a process it has dubbed 'Arsenalisation', and Saturday was the first time that these changes were viewable by the public.

Chief Executive Office Ivan Gazidis has been at the heart of 'Arsenalisation', and is a project that he is very excited about. Mr Gazidis feels that it gives something back to the fans. The Arsenal boss wants to make the Emirates feel more of a 'home' for the fans when they visit on match days, and not an empty or soulless structure that reflects the club's high-paying clientele.

Mr Gazidis said: "It's important to recognise that our fans are at the centre of the club, and that the supporters who attend our games have a right to have their say about the environment in which they watch those games. Listening to our fans, we were hearing a consistent message that, while Emirates is a superb modern stadium, they want us to make it more of a home. Ultimately it's our fans' house, so we've listened to that and taken steps over the last months to engage them in a process of discussion about what these ideas should be - and then to implement as many of them as we can early on in the new season.

"I'm really excited about all the elements of Arsenalisation. As they come together and you begin to see the vision realised, it's going to have a tremendous impact. The lower concourse is going to be transformed, and for the fans who attend that area it will make a fairly dramatic impact on their matchday experience. Additionally, I think the Highbury Shrine is one of the most sensational pieces of creative artwork that I've seen and it will be very impactful – while the cumulative impact of the players 'embracing' the stadium will be dramatic when all eight cores are covered.

"You'll already notice the cannon logo that will be formed by the seats in the lower level opposite the tunnel. This ensures that we'll have something inside the stadium itself stating very clearly that this is Arsenal's home in a way that is consistent with the values of the club. It's understated but confident. All of these things are done with a view to recognising the history, the tradition and the values of the club – but also providing a new, forward-looking vision and visual style to the stadium. Our rich tradition, coupled with vision, has always been a part of Arsenal.

"There will be more changes to come. It's important to understand that this is a first phase – there are other things that we think are great ideas, like moving away from the idea of 'Quadrants' and instigating a more 'human' naming of the various parts of the stadium, along with relocating the clock to the inside of the stadium. Some of those things have not been practical to implement for this year, for various reasons, but we still have them very much on our radar screen for the future.

"We're also going to be spending time learning more about the mechanics of the stadium and ways in which we can improve the fan experience in all aspects, not only visually.

"We have been working hard on Arsenalisation for the last couple of months, and will be phasing changes in over the first two or three home games - and I think that'll be quite exciting, because each time you come back to the stadium there'll be something new to experience. I hope all supporters enjoy the new developments as much as we have enjoyed putting them together."

Part of these new features will be walls that depict twelve of the 'Greatest Moments' in the club's history, with relating images and numbering. These 'moments' will be on walls around the lower concourse.

Manager Arsène Wenger has also been a part of the Arsenalisation process, and it shouldn't be a surprise as the Frenchman has been involved in SEVEN of these twelve greatest moments, listed below:

• 25 – The Herbert Chapman era
• 71 – The 'Double'
• 89 – Winning the title at Anfield
• 94 – Winning the Cup Winners' Cup
• 95 – Dennis Bergkamp signing for Arsenal
• 96 – Arsène Wenger appointed manager
• 97 – Ian Wright breaks Cliff Bastin's goalscoring record
• 98 – First 'Double' under Arsène Wenger
• 02 – Another 'Double'
• 04 – Arsenal winning the league and remaining unbeaten
• 05 – Thierry Henry breaking the Club's goalscoring record
• 49 – Unbeaten run by the 'Invincibles'

Wenger, who has always been a staunch believer that the club's supporters should be at the very heart of the club, said: "You want to transfer the history of the club somewhere into the walls, and create a new history with the results. At the moment we have maybe not achieved that, not outside or on the pitch. My job and that of the team is to create it.

"Highbury had a natural soul because of all the history. We have to create history here first by winning titles but also by making the place warm so you feel the history of the club.

"The history of this club we left behind in a different building. But it is important that in this new place the history and the values of the Club are kept alive.

"I have met so many people who have been going to Arsenal for 50 or 60 years and had their heart and soul at Highbury. We have to give them something back here where they think 'that is part of what I have experienced my whole life'.

"They want to see the faces of the players they have seen - Tony Adams, Patrick Vieira, Cliff Bastin. That has to still continue here. The desire is there but not only from me, the board want to do it and personally I find it a fantastic idea."

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