Chelsea vs Arsenal

Lore & Background

The rivalry between Chelsea and Arsenal intensified in the late 1990s and early 2000s, particularly under managers José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger. Key matches include the 2004 Champions League quarterfinal and the 2007 League Cup final. Both clubs have won multiple Premier League titles, with Arsenal's 'Invincibles' season in 2003–04 and Chelsea's dominance under Roman Abramovich defining eras of the rivalry.

Reader's Guide

The stadium contains five levels: lower bowl, club level, 300 suites level, 400 suites level, and upper bowl. The lower bowl has 42 rows of seats split into two sections. Seat widths vary from 19 to 21 inches in the lower and upper bowls, and 21 to 23 inches on the club level. The venue is served by the Stadium/Federal Hill station of the Baltimore Light Rail. The playing surface originally featured natural grass, then Sportexe Momentum Turf in 2003, replaced by Sportexe Momentum 51 in 2010, and returned to natural grass (Tifway 419 Bermudagrass) in 2016.

Did You Know?

• The largest recorded crowd for a Chelsea vs Arsenal match was 86,000 at the old Wembley Stadium for the 2007 League Cup final.
• The rivalry has produced iconic moments like Ashley Cole's controversial move from Arsenal to Chelsea in 2006.
• The stadium used in the 2000 film The Replacements was fictional; the actual filming location was M&T Bank Stadium (then PSINet Stadium), but the film called it 'Nextel Stadium' as a fictional name.