Arsene Wenger Says Arsenal 'Left Our Soul' at Highbury in Emirates Stadium Move

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has said the club lost something following the move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium.

Wenger oversaw the switch from the Gunners' traditional home, where they'd played since 1913, to their new venue in 2006.

He told beIN Sports (h/t Goal's James Westwood):

"I moved from Highbury, which was similar to Anfield, but there was a soul in the stadium.

"We built a new stadium but we never found our soul—we left our soul at Highbury. We could never recreate it for security reasons.

"The distance from the pitch to the stand had to be bigger as we needed ambulances to come in. The inclination of the stands had to be smaller all those things together that we didn't find to recreate the atmosphere."

Arsenal swapped Highbury for a significantly larger venue when they made the transition. While Highbury had a capacity of just over 38,000, the Emirates' capacity exceeds 60,000.

In the Premier League, only Manchester United—thanks to Old Trafford's 75,000 capacity—have brought in more matchday revenue in recent years, albeit Arsenal's rivals have been catching up:

However, the increase in capacity has not had the positive impact on the atmosphere in the stadium that Arsenal might have hoped for.

Journalist Layth Yousif noted the lack of atmosphere in Arsenal's match with Manchester City in December:

Generating noise has been an issue at the stadium throughout their time at the Emirates, though it's worth remembering Highbury didn't have a reputation for being a particularly noisy ground, either.

Indeed, opposition supporters had nicknamed the stadium "The Library."

Arsenal have had difficulty enjoying the same level of success since they started playing at the Emirates in the 2006-07 season, though.

Prior to the move, Wenger had delivered three Premier League titles—one as part of an unbeaten season—and four FA Cups at Arsenal, as well as reaching the UEFA Cup and UEFA Champions League finals.

They did not win another trophy until they won the FA Cup in 2014. They added two more in 2015 and 2017, as well as the subsequent Community Shield on each occasion, but it's a far cry from the success they once enjoyed.

Arsenal have also finished in the Premier League's top two just once since the move, and that was in 2015-16 when Leicester City enjoyed their fairytale title win.

Despite the increase in matchday revenue the stadium has generated, the transition cost the club more than £400 million, forcing Wenger to be frugal in the transfer market at a time when the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City were on the rise.

As much as Arsenal have struggled to keep pace at the top of table, though, for a team with ambitions to cement themselves as one of Europe's elite, the stadium move was arguably a necessary decision long term, if not a sentimental one.

Of the Premier League's big six, Chelsea are now the only side to have a stadium capacity below 50,000, and they had long planned to build a new stadium of similar size to the Emirates until those plans were shelved in 2018.

It's a similar case across Europe's biggest sides, too. Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain's stadiums are below 50,000, but Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund have capacities ranging from 68,000 to 99,000.

With their stadium in place, Arsenal have all the tools to rejoin that group, it's now a case of matching them on the pitch via smart recruitment and strong coaching.