Arsenal tube station is heaving, just as you would expect for a matchday at Emirates Stadium.
There are just shy of 60,000 people heading to the turnstiles and kick-off is only an hour away.
All the usual signs are there that this is a normal matchday — red and white scarves, Arsenal shirts, north London accents and someone moaning about the queue to get out of the station — but it looks and feels very different.
Outside, on Gillespie Road, there are families, loads of women and loads of children walking up the street, chatting, smiling, drinking coffees and queueing for burgers.
The team news has been announced but few people are scrolling on their phones to find out what it is; they are pretty chilled and mostly just talking about what they got up to last night or their plans for Christmas.
The top two teams in the country are about to go head to head in a London derby featuring some of the best players in the world. Can you imagine what the pre-match build-up would be like here if it was Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal against Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea?
The streets around Arsenal were quiet (Tim Spiers/The Athletic)
Well no, actually, you can’t, because Arsenal v Chelsea in the men’s game would never have been played on Sunday, December 10, 2023.
That is…
