I just wanted to point out one of the reasons for people leaving early: and that is, the poor access to public transport outside the new ground. When Arsenal were seeking planning permission for Ashburton Grove, one of the conditions for the council agreeing were that the club would provide access to Holloway Road station, via a walkway which would directly connect to the ground. This was to alleviate residents’ concerns about congestion and the potential danger of large crowds seeking entry to a small station entrance.

For reasons of which I am unaware, the club has since been able to renege on this agreement. No doubt they felt rather smug that they had used their plans to bring the council round, before dumping them and saving the money. However, such short-sightedness (considering the relatively small sum in relation to the overall cost of the stadium), has meant that to avoid the possibility of overcrowding a station not built for such crowds, and to avoid drawing attention to their part in this situation (and any culpability in a 'situation'), the club has advised the police to close Holloway Road to fans leaving the ground. This means long walks down Holloway Road with the roads and pavements completely overcrowded.

This is, I believe, one of the major factors in people wanting to get away before the nightmare that is Holloway Road after a match begins. And I don't blame fans for this one bit. I take each game as it is: if we are winning comfortably, and the spirit of the game has gone, then I am quite happy to disappear early. A nail biter will keep me there.

I am not going to apologise to any tinpot 'fan' who demands I show support for the team etc etc. This is almost as bad as the mini dictators, usually pimply youths, who scream at you to stand up if you hate Tottenham etc. Yawn, bore. The last thing I want during a game which I am focussed on is for some bored trainspotter to yell at me to stand up, disrupting my concentration on the game and obscuring my view. In fact, I will make a point of staying seated in order to show him/her that I have no need whatsoever to demonstrate to some newbie fan that I support Arsenal.

People who write here worrying about what the players think live in cloud cuckoo land. The players, multi millionaires to a man, enjoy our support, I have no doubt. But to imagine that they will up sticks and leave a winning team with the greatest coach in Europe is nonsense. It might be nice to imagine that players reciprocate the loyalty of the fans to them, but it is rare in my experience. (And how has Alan Esparza's loyalty been rewarded, exactly?)

Football has changed, stadia have changed, fans have changed. We all pay over the odds to watch a sport. It is much more a financial relationship than it ever was. As such, I believe that with what we pay, we are entitled to exercise our free will to come and go as we please. You may disagree, but I don't have to conform to whatever your ideas of a football fan are, or what my behaviour ought to be. Sorry, times have changed.

(Online Ed’s note – I feel it should be stated here that Arsenal held up their end of the bargain in terms of the re-development of Holloway Road station, but that Ken Livingstone and Transport for London did not feel the expense of their own contribution was justified, which is how we have ended up with the current situation. I am not aware that Arsenal were ever committed to building a footbridge over the Holloway Road)