Size of the pitch at Ashburton Grove

[themodelcitizen]

Does anyone know what the surface will be like at Ashburton Grove/Emirates Stadium? The small pitch at Highbury and its impeccable groundskeeping has fostered Arsenal's superb attacking football over the past few years and even in George Graham's defensive days the Gunners used to "squeeze the life" out of teams at Highbury using the small width to play their own brand of football.

Are the same dimensions being used in the new stadium, or is it going to be an entirely new experience? I imagine the grounds crew will be brought over which is a must.

[billyho96]

well, word around the campfire is that they have already started growing the pitch from seed as the gounds crew believes it makes for a stronger surface than mature turf brought in an laid out across prepared dirt.

the size of the pitch will be larger.

or so I've heard

[Bighorn]

Size of the grass area will be 113m by 76m. Compared to 105m by 70m at Highbury.

http://www.arsenal.com/emiratesstadium/article.asp?article=Key%20Facts

[HighburyGoon]

This worries me, as I believe the size of the pitch has been a major advantage at Highbury, which we'll be losing with the move.

[DallasGooner]

http://www.arsenal.com/emiratesstadium/article.asp?article=Key%20Facts

For the lazy:

Size of the grass area will be 113m by 76m. Compared to 105m by 70m at Highbury

[themodelcitizen]

This is something of a concern as our home form this season has been superb, due in no small part to the tight playing conditions at Highbury. The fact that our "wingers" (Pires, Freddie, Hleb) spend so much time in the middle is a testament to the size of the pitch which allows lauren and ashley cole to cover for them adequately. We've suffered in away games at larger pitches, but we also must keep in mind that in the 01-02 season we went unbeaten away from home. Wenger will no doubt have this in mind as he prepares for the new season at Emirates which I look forward to.

[Bighorn]

This worries me, as I believe the size of the pitch has been a major advantage at Highbury, which we'll be losing with the move.

The crapness worries me more.

[lambretta76]

I believe they mentioned on the tour that the current pitch is the smallest in the Premiership, and that the new one will be the largest (and pushes right up against the maximum size as allowed by the FA).

What size pitch do they practice on?

[PsychedelicCeltic]

I've heard that the pitch at Highbury is actually 101 x 67 m, and not 105 x 70.

Perhaps the smaller numbers are from when Arsenal had to play at Wembley because the pitch was so small.

[HighburyGoon]

The crapness worries me more.

Well combine the crapness with a loss of the only advantage we've had this season and we're ********ed!

[PsychedelicCeltic]

I think the width of the pitch hurts Arsenal quite a lot, because they can't play with as much width. It's no secret that Arsene wanted the pitch bigger.

[HighburyGoon]

I think the width of the pitch hurts Arsenal quite a lot, because they can't play with as much width. It's no secret that Arsene wanted the pitch bigger.

If this is the case, then explain the crapness away and the dominance at home.

[NYCgooner]

If this is the case, then explain the crapness away and the dominance at home.

blaming the team's away form on large pitches, and conversely, the home form on a smaller one seems off the mark. i think it's a much more psychological thing to do with the crowd and atmosphere, and even down to feeling uncomfortable having to stay in hotels at away matches.

we had a cracking away record a few seasons ago, and people used to say the exact opposite of what you're saying now. ie, that we were more dangerous away because the team had more space in which to operate, utilizing our pace and skill.

i think it's down to confidence, ultimately.

[HighburyGoon]

blaming the team's away form on large pitches, and conversely, the home form on a smaller one seems off the mark. i think it's a much more psychological thing to do with the crowd and atmosphere, and even down to feeling uncomfortable having to stay in hotels at away matches.

we had a cracking away record a few seasons ago, and people used to say the exact opposite of what you're saying now. ie, that we were more dangerous away because the team had more space in which to operate, utilizing our pace and skill.

i think it's down to confidence, ultimately.

If it's confidence, then Arsene needs to bring in a sports psychologist ASAP.

[NYCgooner]

If it's confidence, then Arsene needs to bring in a sports psychologist ASAP.

i'll even help pay the bills!

[surfcam]

For the lazy:

Size of the grass area will be 113m by 76m. Compared to 105m by 70m at Highbury

The size of the grass and size of the pitch are two different things, though it will be larger at the Grove. From what I remember from the tour, it won't be considerably different from most pitch sizes in the Prem.

[Rewinder]

If it's confidence, then Arsene needs to bring in a sports psychologist ASAP.

I heard spraying axe over your body in the morning can work wonders for your confidence...

Maybe a new sponsorship is in order?

Sorry emirates, but its now The Axe Stadium - where dirty boys play their game

[ZonaGunner]

I've always assumed that Arsene has been making player moves the last few years with an eye on moving to a larger pitch at Ashburton Grove. How that factors into the team's success or lack thereof at home and on the road in recent years is of course hard to know. I think Arsenal misses Vieira's presence more on the road in hostile environs than when they are at Highbury and the relative youth of the squad, along with key injuries has hurt them more when they're trying to get a decent result on the road. And undoubtedly there's some amount of psychology to the varying form.

I'm curious to see how players like Henry, Walcott, etc. do on the larger pitch at Ashburton Grove. Of course some of our wingers, such as Pires and Ljundberg are getting older and are hardly burners anymore. And the thought of Cygan having to cover more ground isn't very encouraging.

[The Grimster]

For the lazy:

Size of the grass area will be 113m by 76m. Compared to 105m by 70m at Highbury
Which is nothing to do with the size of the pitch of course.

[The Grimster]

I believe they mentioned on the tour that the current pitch is the smallest in the Premiership, and that the new one will be the largest (and pushes right up against the maximum size as allowed by the FA).

What size pitch do they practice on?Exactly the size that they play matches on.