Not sure if Gooners are aware of the proposal to ban drinking on the streets surrounding the ground on match days, highlighted in this article.

I think it would be grossly unfair, especially considering our impeccable record when it comes to violence. I have emailed Islington council (see below) and am writing to encourage other Arsenal fans, especially Islington residents, to also email and voice their disapproval of the proposal, to [email protected]

It should be remembered that nobody moved to the area unaware of the club and the regular matches and there is no evidence that drinking on the streets causes any trouble. No local residents that I know object to the drinking at all - the only complaint I have heard is litter on the streets, but that is chip/burger wrappers, soft drink cans, newspapers and everything else as well.

Email sent to Islington Council -

Dear Sirs,

I read with interest the proposal of a Controlled Drinking Zone in the vicinity of Ashburton Grove for Arsenal match days. I lived in the area for many years and although I am no longer a resident I return every match day, and have close friends in the area.

I feel that this proposal would be grossly unfair on the extreme majority of Arsenal fans who enjoy matchdays extremely peacefully. I have been attending Arsenal matches since the late 1970s and I have only twice witnessed violence on the streets around both the old and new stadiums - once when Millwall visited Highbury in 1988 and then last month when Cardiff visited the Emirates stadium. After the Cardiff game last month I actually spoke to a few Cardiff fans after the game and they were pleasant. Both these incidents were entirely due to the behaviour of the away fans, and on the whole only a small number of them.

This violence was clearly not due to drinking cans on the street. In the case of the recent Cardiff game, their coaches arrived in Finsbury Park in the early afternoon, for a 7.45pm kick off, and the Cardiff fans spent the whole afternoon drinking in the local pubs. If there was a Controlled Drinking Zone for certain high risk games, where the away fans have a history of violence (Millwall, Cardiff, Tottenham, Birmingham) this would maybe be acceptable, but a blanket ban seems completely unfair, especially given the impeccable record of Arsenal fans.

The statement that the new stadium has resulted in extra spectators is also not logical - yes there are now more fans than when Highbury was made an all seated stadium, but the record attendance at Highbury was 73,295 and I can clearly remember a League Cup tie in the 80's vs. Liverpool where 60,000 fans turned up (I was unfortunately in the 6,000 fans locked out of the ground).

I think it would also mean that fans who drink cans on the way to the stadium would stay in the pubs for longer, increasing the rush as kick off time approaches and causing crowd flow problems like those after matches, and thus increasing the strain on the police, and the areas surrounding the ground.

Being a local resident as a child was the reason I am an Arsenal fan, and this was also the case for many of my neighbours. Also Arsenal moved to the area in 1913 - so there will be very few local residents who moved to the area unaware that every two weeks there would be a large influx of Arsenal fans.

I hope that you will take the above comments in to consideration and decide to reject the proposal.

- Tom Bollen

(Ed’s note – Okay, you may wish to email the council yourself but maybe don’t have the time to construct an email. I suggest you keep it short, or simply feel free to copy the text below…)

Subject: Proposed Controlled Drinking Zone in vicinity of Emirates Stadium.

Message: To Islington Council –

Please note my opposition to the proposal for a CDZ to be established around Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. I believe that there are very, very few incidents of trouble created by people drinking on the street, and that in most instances, fans only drink on the street en route to the match after they have spent time in a local pub. Their drinking on the street, in itself, does not create a problem and so the move to ban it is heavy-handed and unnecessary. All that will occur if the proposal goes through is that fans will stay longer in the pub and leave for the game much nearer kick off, which will create crowds greater than the area can handle and create more problems than exist under the current arrangements. Laws already exist for drunk and disorderly fans to be dealt with by the police. The CDZ option should be used to keep parks free from habitual drunks rather than create unnecessary tension between fans and police officers. The creation of a CDZ is inappropriate in this instance, especially given the good reputation Arsenal fans enjoy both home and away. Please do not push this proposal through.