The red and white gunners of Arsenal FC waved farewell to Highbury and swapped their football citadel for a brand-new stadium a few hundred metres further away.  The Emirates Stadium has become a real football temple. With a reinforced natural grass system from Desso Sports Systems.

The construction of Arsenal’s home base in London began in 2004. “The special construction of the stadium makes it more difficult for grass to grow well. In any event, we have found a system in Desso GrassMaster that reinforces natural grass, protects the fibre and above all fulfils the high demands of our players.”, says John Beattie, Stadium Manager of the Emirates Stadium.

Paul Burgess, then Head Groundsman of the Arsenal-field and pronounced ‘Professional Football Groundsman’ in 2005 ánd 2008, is also satisfied. “With the construction of the new stadium in 2006, was a very busy year but that certainly does not make it any less wonderful.  I was looking forward to working with the new field in the Emirates Stadium. I have every confidence in our having made the right choice with the Desso GrassMaster. People ask me whether this field will be as good as the Highbury pitch and I can easily reassure them.  It is a reliable grass system that has more than proven itself with other top clubs from the Premiership. It will certainly be a pleasure to play football at the Emirates Stadium.”

In 2008, Paul Burgess again received the award of 'Head Groundsman of the year 2008'. His reaction: 

“Part of the success is our Desso GrassMaster pitch. We can concentrate completely on the best maintenance possible and keep the pitch in top condition. It’s nice to know we can trust the surface’s stability and have a field that gets less damaged than an ordinary one. Most importantly, the team is happy. The award is a nice bonus: the recognition of our hard work.”

With a capacity of 60 000 spectators, Arsenal FC expects the annual number of visitors at Premiership matches to increase to 1 140 000. After Old Trafford, the home base of Manchester United, the Emirates Stadium is the largest stadium in the English Premiership.