Wenger: ‘I want Emirates to be the centre of London’

Arsène Wenger wants to further the ‘Arsenalisation’ of Emirates Stadium to make it the “centre of the city”. Over the past three years, the Club has turned the Gunners’ home into a visible stronghold of all things Arsenal through a variety of artistic and creative means. Wenger is delighted with the progress made at the stadium, but feels more can be done over the coming years to make additional improvements. “It is getting better and better. I still feel we have some more jobs to do on that front,” he told the Official Matchday Programme. “I would like, especially at night, to have more lighting and for the stadium [to be] really the centre of the city. But I feel we have done a fantastic job and I would like to congratulate those people who have done that. “They have come up with these ideas and it is absolutely fantastic. I still think at night we can make this place a little bit livelier and that is what we work on.” Wenger would like to improve the whole matchday experience for Arsenal fans, by making Emirates Stadium a true hub of activity. “We have to go further with ‘Arsenalisation’ and make sure it is not only a place where the game starts at 3 o'clock and finishes at quarter to five, but it is a place where you can spend the day there,” he says. “You can talk, communicate, have remembrance of what has happened and be in touch with the history of the Club. You can have a good time with friends, and that is certainly vital in the modern game.”