North London Forever: A Song of Resilience and Redemption

How Arsenal's Anthem Ignited a Season of Transformation

The Arsenal team all going to celebrate after a goal. An evident resurgence and transformation of the club. The anthem of North London forever is a good part of the reason.

As the bright lights shine down on the Emirates stadium in the northern part of London, a football team dressed in red and white gather around each other into a small circle with each player's arms around the other. As a few players attempt to make their voices heard in the huddle, the newly taken-to-heart anthem written by local Islington boy Louis Dunford's song The Angel(North London Forever) is bellowed out by 60,000 Arsenal supporters. The song has become the new fan-favourite tradition, taking Gooners hearts worldwide. As Arsenal manager and Spain international Mikel Arteta stood in front of his first team players 24 hours before kickoff, he played the entire tune of "North London Forever." The team had unanimously voted on the to become the new pre-kickoff anthem. The first time the anthem was played at the Emirates stadium, Mikel Arteta, in a post-match interview, commented how emotional it was to hear the fans singing the anthem.

Arsenal Boss Mikel Arteta(Left) and Louis Dunford(Right) meet at London Colney Training Ground

"I think there is a link with how the team started because they were commenting in the dressing room, hearing the song with the spirit and emotion they did. It was unique. I have never experienced that here. It was the first time, and I really enjoyed it, " Not only have the fans taken this song to heart so quickly, it has raised the decibel levels inside the Emirates to an astounding rate at which noise has never reached in the Emirates. With the heightened excitement, this would ignite a season of transformation and give Arsenal fans hope for the future that many did not expect.

Before kickoff, there is always a resounding orchestrated song of Arsenal fans banding together for 4 minutes to get Mikel Arteta and his men up for the game. The song's momentum carries Mikel's men from kickoff to full-time whistle.

Star striker Gabriel Jesus motivates Arsenal in the huddle before kickoff of the North London Derby

When the song became Arsenal's pre-match anthem, Arsenal eagerly pushed on for a Champions League spot. They continued onwards and upwards the following season, finishing just behind the premier league champions, Man City, after leading the way for almost the whole season. That leaves us where we are now. Arsenal is back into the golden generation, with the fans all behind Arsenal and everyone in and around the club feeling as a whole in unison. As long as this song is played every match before kickoff, the sky is the limit for the Gunners.

Journalist James Benge's view from Arsenal's first Champions League match in over 7 years, the crowd singing North London forever before kickoff.