As they should be because Arsenal are in the FA Cup final this afternoon. Arsenal flags hang from the balconies of council flats and festoon the Farrow & Ball front doors of smart Georgian houses. I don’t know whether this is a good or a bad thing. There is no starker example of the gentrification of London than the borough of Islington and in particular, Arsenal FC, where indigenous people have been priced out of both. The whole area is undeniably far more pleasant but its transformation still feels slightly wrong. Because those on lower incomes can no longer afford to live in their own neighbourhood or go and see their local team. So this is a little reminder of when going to Highbury on match day was a genuinely dangerous experience.
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