Emirates Stadium:
stands, tiers
and where to sit

What kind of ground this is

The Emirates stands in Holloway, north London, around 450 metres from Highbury, where Arsenal played for 93 years. The club moved in 2006 and the ground opened on 22 July. Capacity is 60,704, among the largest in England. Unlike the Etihad, which was converted from an athletics stadium, the Emirates was built for football from day one: the bowl is continuous and oval, there was never a running track, and the lower tier comes right up to the pitch all the way round.

One detail came with them from Highbury. The south stand is called the Clock End, after the clock that hung at the old ground; a recreation of it was installed at the Emirates in August 2010. The name stuck and appears on tickets, even though by the compass it is the south.

Four stands: the North Bank, the Clock End, East and West

The side stands are simply the East Stand and the West Stand. The west holds the tunnel, the dugouts and the directors' box, and most of the boxes and premium seats sit on that side. The east faces it and looks across the pitch at the benches. Both run along the touchline, and the central sections are on them.

Behind the goals are the North Bank and the Clock End. The North Bank is the home end in the fullest sense: its lower tier holds Arsenal's most vocal support, and that is where the singing starts and from where it carries across the ground. The Clock End is calmer. Away supporters are given the south-east corner of the lower tier, usually around 1,500 seats; in cup competitions the allocation can expand to as many as 9,000, or 15 per cent of capacity, and the corner grows noticeably.

Four levels: lower tier, Club Level, boxes and upper tier

In height the Emirates has four levels, and the second of them is unusual. The lower tier is the largest by area, around 24,000 seats, and starts at the pitch. Above it runs Club Level, roughly 7,100 seats: not simply a middle tier but seats held on multi-year licences with access to private lounges, taken by the same people season after season. That is why Club Level rarely reaches open sale, which is worth knowing when you plan an evening in advance.

Above Club Level is the box level: 150 boxes of 10, 12 and 15 seats, around 2,200 people in total. Highest of all is the upper tier, roughly 26,000 seats, the largest after the lower. The upper tier was designed with open corners, so from above the bowl reads as four arcs rather than one unbroken ring.

Standing places from the 2026/27 season

A licensed safe standing area has been in use at the Emirates since the start of this season. Rail seating was installed in the lower tier of the Clock End, around 6,850 places where supporters may stand for the whole match under the rules of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority. Overall capacity did not change: the seats were not removed, rails were added to them.

A second phase is planned for the 2027/28 season, in the lower tier of the North Bank; after it the total will be around 13,500 standing places, including the away section. The practical conclusion for choosing a seat is simple: if you want to stand and sing, this season that means the lower Clock End rather than the North Bank.

Where the view is best at the Emirates

The geometry is the same as at any ground. The closer a section is to the halfway line, the more evenly play reads across the pitch. The higher the tier, the more of the pitch fits into view and the clearer the shape of the teams, but the further you are from the emotion. Behind the goal, attacks towards the near end look spectacular and attacks at the far end barely read.

In our experience one thing is particular to the Emirates. It was built for football, and the lower tier sits closer to the pitch than at converted grounds, so the front rows along the touchline give a rare closeness to the game. But because the seating starts so low, the far corner falls away at a sharper angle than usual. The compromise we suggest most often is the middle rows of the lower tier in a side stand, near the halfway line: high enough to read the shape, close enough to hear the pitch. The upper tier of the same stands gives the full picture, as from the television camera.

How the categories map onto the Emirates

We work with categories and stands rather than individual seats. At the Emirates they map out like this. VIP is hospitality: a seat in a side stand plus a lounge or a private box with catering before the match, at half-time and after the whistle. Premium is the central sections of the side stands along the touchline, the best view without a separate area or catering. Category 1 is the side stands further from the centre and the upper tier along the touchline. Category 2 is the stands behind the goals and the back rows.

How the categories work at any stadium is explained in our article on football ticket categories. What a hospitality package includes and how it differs from an ordinary ticket is covered in the article on hospitality. Remember the caveat about Club Level above: that tier is held on multi-year licences and is not always open for a given date.

Why we confirm a section, not a seat

The club allocates seats through its season ticket and membership programmes and releases the seating closer to the match. A month before the north London derby, nobody can honestly quote you a row and a seat number at the Emirates. We confirm the category and the stand at booking; the section and the row are fixed when the club releases the seating. A seller who quotes a seat number in advance is promising something they do not yet know themselves. What else is worth checking before you pay is set out in our article on how to check a ticket reseller.

How to choose a seat at the Emirates

• You want to read the game and see the shape of the teams: the middle rows of the lower tier in a side stand, near the halfway line.
• Closeness to the pitch matters more: the front rows of the lower tier along the touchline, closer here than at most English grounds.
• An evening with guests or a business meeting: VIP with a lounge on the west side, a private box for a group.
• You want atmosphere and singing: the lower North Bank, or, if you specifically want to stand, the safe standing area in the lower Clock End.
• Your first match at the Emirates on a calmer budget: the upper tier of a side stand, the whole pitch from above.

We arrange tickets for Arsenal's home matches through the Premier League hub: Manchester City on 28 November 2026, Manchester United on 19 December 2026, Liverpool on 6 February 2027 and the north London derby against Tottenham on 1 May 2027. European nights at the Emirates run separately: Borussia Dortmund on 24 November 2026 and Real Madrid on 9 December 2026. Name the match, the number of guests and what matters more, the view or the atmosphere, and your concierge confirms which sections are open for that date.