I for one won’t be using the ‘E’ word for our new stadium. There is good reason for this quite apart from the fact that I think the name sucks and their overly large corporate logo despoils our new home. In the United States where Stadiums have been sponsored for some years now the names change as regularly as shirt sponsors. My favoured American Football team used to play at the delightfully named Candlestick Park which was renamed '3Com' under a sponsorship deal and has changed again in a new deal to 'Monster Park' - how crap is that?

Some of you might have noticed how Tom Watts, whilst acting as compere for the ‘Final Salute’ almost bent over backward to avoid using the ‘E’ word. He like numerous other Gooners do not consider that ‘Emirates’ should become the accepted name for our new stadium. I am of a like mind. I wouldn’t name my house after a corporation so why should I refer to what will undoubtedly become my second home by a corporate handle? To my mind however necessary it may be deemed financially this is essentially a lowering of the tone. I’m not against sponsorship but Cathedrals don’t have sponsors names so why should my place of worship? You may recall that ‘The Arsenal Stadium’ was always universally known as Highbury, but we have yet to determine an acceptable name for the new place.

Because ‘The New Arsenal Stadium’ does not have an established name the media will refer to it as ‘The Emirates’ which is fine because our sponsors will get more than their money’s worth as a result. But our new stadium should in my opinion have a name by which it is collectively referred to by its occupants. Whether that’s ‘New Highbury’, ‘Highbury’, ‘The Home of Football’, ‘The New Home of Football’, ‘Ashburton Grove’, ‘Ashburton’, 'Drayton Park' or the ‘Wengerdome’ I really don’t mind. But please let’s not assist in establishing the ‘E’ word because our time at Ashburton / Highbury / Wengerdome will be far more permanent than any sponsor.

In the meantime I shall continue to go down ‘The Arsenal’ as I have for a good few decades. I shall exit The Arsenal tube station and turn right instead of left, but so far as I'm concerned I won’t be sitting in a place of worship named after an airline.

(A longer version off this article has appeared on Arsenal World, but Brian wanted to make sure that there was less chance of the E word being used if the piece appeared on more than one site, and we’re happy to oblige – Online Ed)