West Ham United need to look at what Arsenal have done with the Emirates to help improve everything about the London Stadium.
I know West Ham have a lot of 2pm Sunday kick-offs, but the atmosphere inside the London Stadium really is incredibly poor, unlike the Emirates right now, with the Arsenal fans absolutely bouncing.
Sure, the atmosphere has been good at the London Stadium at times. I’m thinking of our League Cup win over Chelsea back in 2016, our home wins over Tottenham over the past six or seven years and of course the 2022 Europa League win over Sevilla.
However, it would be remiss of me to suggest that those games mentioned above were not in the vast minority.
And yes, I’m fully aware that the Gunners being successful right now and playing far better football than us plays a big part in the contrasting atmospheres inside the two stadiums.
However, there is definitely more that we can do. The club and the fans need to make a concerted effort to change things.
And as much as it hurts to admit it after the halcyon days of Upton Park, Arsenal are the team we need to be looking at for inspiration…
West Ham need to copy Arsenal in major off pitch London Stadium change
Arsenal have revolutionised the atmosphere at the Emirates over the past couple of years, under the leadership of Mikel Arteta.
They have a regular ploy of two-for-one offers on pre-match pints purchased within 60 minutes of the stadium opening.
The Gunners have a dedicated section for a so-called group of ‘Ultras’ – The Ashburton Army in the Clock End at the Emirates. Sure, you might laugh at it, but it works. The 200 odd people sing constantly throughout the game, and it encourages others to do so.
Another big change we could make – a route that Arsenal have gone down – is the introduction of large flags around the ground. Just look at Bundesliga matches – it definitely helps with the atmosphere for some strange reason!
I don’t think the London Stadium will ever feel like home. Unlike the Emirates, it’s not a football stadium fit for purpose.
However, we can make the best out of what we have. There are so many ways that we can make things better inside our home ground. The owners need to work closely with supporter groups to help implement any changes that need to happen.
The bottom line is that we’ve shown that we’re capable of making noise inside the London Stadium over the past few years, we just need more encouragement to do so.
The Sun have highlighted how the Arsenal owners are always willing to engage with the fans about things that can make their home ground better for everyone involved with the club.
One caveat to all of that is that it is nigh on impossible to create a good atmosphere inside the ground when we have a passive team who sit off the opposition and don’t really play any front foot football. That’s a debate for another day though, and for now, West Ham need to look at what Arsenal have done at the Emirates if we are to improve things inside the London Stadium.
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