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Arsenal fans can breathe a sigh of relief after the club passed the penultimate hurdle in its plans for a new 60,000-seater stadium less than a mile away from their current Highbury ground.
Islington Council debated the plans for the new ground at Ashburton Grove for five hours on Monday evening before voting overwhelmingly in favour of the proposals which would see the Gunners leave Highbury, their home since 1913.
"It's a momentous day, a momentous night," said vice-chairman David Dein, who said the proposals would allow the Gunners to compete on a level playing field with the best in Europe.
"Our fans need a bigger stadium. We're now competing with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Juventus so we have got to make sure we have a stadium to match."
The plans now have to be given the green light by Mayor of London Ken Livingstone but with the council vote going 34-7 in the Gunners' favour, there seems little doubt the plans will go through.
It ends a protracted saga for Arsenal fans. The club looked at a number of proposals including the purchase of the former Wembley Stadium site as well as a brownfield site next to Kings Cross Station.
But work will now start next year on converting an area of industrial units into a stadium fit for the 21st century with hopes it can be completed by the end of 2004.
Not only does the approval mean Arsenal will be playing in a ground fit for their stature, it is also a huge boost to manager Arsene Wenger.
Many of his star players, including Frenchmen Thiery Henry and Patrick Vieira, have cited the new stadium as another reason that would tempt them to stay at the club in the long term.
That brings my mind this song:
...here comes the sun...
la la la la
the Beatles
Peace & Love, Bobbo.
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