Marco van Basten and Dennis Bergkamp in Bergkamp's testimonial game in 2006
The Emirates Stadium is located on Ashburton Grove, a street in the North-London borough of Islington.
The stadium would originally be named 'Ashburton Grove' before a naming rights deal with the airline Emirates was signed in October 2004. Some fans will still call the stadium 'Ashburton Grove'. The stadium will be named 'Emirates Stadium' for at least 15 years. This was agreed in a £100m sponsorship deal Arsenal have signed with Emirates. This deal also includes an 8-year shirt sponsorship deal.
Since the beginning of the 2006/07-season, Arsenal FC play their home games in the Emirates Stadium. The stadium has a capacity of 60.355, which makes the Emirates the third largest stadium in England, behind Wembley Stadium and Old Trafford.
The stadium's first game was on the 22nd of July 2006, hosting the Dennis Bergkamp testimonial match between Arsenal and Ajax Amsterdam. The game saw Arsenal win 2-1 and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar scored the first goal in the Emirates Stadium for Ajax. The first Arsenal goal in the Emirates Stadium was scored by Thierry Henry.
Arsenal's first competitive match at the stadium was an FA Premier League game against Aston Villa on 19 August 2006, which ended 1-1. Aston Villa player Olof Mellberg scored the first goal of the game and thus the first Premiership goal at Emirates Stadium. Arsenal had to wait until September 23, 2006 for their first Premiership win at the stadium, defeating Sheffield United 3-0.
