A tour guide shows Tiger Beer competition winners around the change room at the English Premier League club Arsenal’s London headquarters

The winner of a Tiger Beer competition recounts his once-in-a-lifetime visit to the headquarters of the Arsenal football club in London

The sprawling complex is Arsenal’s own kingdom. Security is so tight there are even guards on the small road that leads from the highway to the club gates.

Taking photos and videos is forbidden in some parts of the club complex and the number of visitors is extremely limited.

We were lucky to be the winners of the ’Accompanying Tiger Beer to England to watch a Premier League match’ competition in south central and southern Vietnam. As Tiger Beer is one of Arsenal’s sponsors, we were able to get past security and take photos to our heart’s content.

According to our guide, Arsenal’s managing board built the facilities based on team manager Arsene Wenger’s ideas.

The modern complex has 10 practice grounds for teams of different ages, including Arsenal’s women’s team. There are also change rooms, a gym, a sports injury treatment room, a dining room, a room for strategy training and a room just for storing shoes.

The rooms are all very spacious and clean. Visitors must wear shoes covered with red nylon when walking around the club to make it as comfortable as possible for the players.

Of course, the red and white colors, the traditional colors of the Gunners, can be seen everywhere. Even the trash cans are red and white.

The impressive sports complex hammers home to visitors the power of Arsenal, one of the English Premier League’s four strongest teams

The feeling intensified when our group of visitors from Vietnam went to Emirates Stadium in the “land of fog” to watch the match between Arsenal and Wigan Athletics on December 6. The home team beat the visitors 1- 0 with a 16th minute goal by Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor, who took a neat pass from Spanish midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

After the game, Charlie George, one of the 50 greatest players in the history of Arsenal, gave us a tour of the stadium.

George played for Arsenal from 1969 to 1975, including the team that won the English Premier League and FA championships in 1971. George scored one goal in a 2-1 victory over Liverpool in the FA Cup final that year.

Now 58 years old and one of the people in charge of preserving the tradition of a club with a history of 122 years, George looks healthy and knows how to hold an audience.

Watching an English Premier League match in the stadium gave our small group a better understanding of why Vietnamese fans love English football so much – the sheer level of excitement, the high standard of play and the professionalism of everything from the change rooms to the game tactics.

It is certain that sponsors understand how much the English Premier League appeals to football fans.

Vietnam Brewery Limited Marketing Director Tran Minh Tam said: “Tiger Beer will remain side-by-side with Vietnamese football fans. As the official sponsor of the English Premier League to be aired on ESPN and Star Sports, we will organize many activities in Vietnam relating to English football.”

“We will create more chances for football fans to communicate and enjoy international football, especially events involving Arsenal and Spain’s Barcelona team, which Tiger Beer sponsors in Southeast Asia,” Tam said.

Reported by Hai Thanh