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Who are Ashburton Army? The Arsenal ultras group AFTV could only dream of

By: Author Uttiyo Sarkar

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Who are Ashburton Army? The Arsenal ultras group AFTV could only dream of

Arsenal are refusing to let its fairy-tale start to the 2022/23 Premier League season end.

The Gunners were tipped by some doubters to ‘break down’ after the World Cup beak and let Manchester City take control of the title race.

Instead, they don’t seem to have lost any of their spark despite a month-long inactivity.

Mikel Arteta’s side resumed their Premier League season in impressive fashion with a dominant 3-1 win over London rivals, West Ham United.

Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli continue to fuel their title charge. Eddie Nketiah scored a wonderful goal to prove that Gabriel Jesus might not be missed after all.

But the backbone of the Gunners’ success is the impressive support and devotion they have received from their fans all season long.

Despite going through tumultuous periods under Mikel Arteta, the fans have rallied to help their club achieve something special. However, one Arsenal fan group, in particular, is gaining a reputation for being the most vocal group among any Premier League club.

Before their game against West Ham, a video of the ‘Ashburton Army’ in action went viral on social media.

The Ashburton Army includes a large amount of extremely loud and passionate Arsenal fans, who grouped together and sang their way into the Emirates Stadium before the London Derby.

The fan group is one that has helped improve the quality of the atmosphere at the Gunners’ games over the last few years. There is also a nice little history behind the name ‘Ashburton’ which some die-hard Gooner should know about.

The Emirates Stadium, which was completed in 2006, was actually built on one of the roads in London that was previously known as the ‘Ashburton Grove’.

Hence, the group have been inspired by that to name themselves and they are also known for having a bit of anti-establishment, defiant nature as well.

Indeed, the group often carry their own personalized flags which are of the club’s red and white colours.

Their logo is inspired by the protagonist from the film ‘V for Vendetta’, another anti-establishment character.

The Ashburton Army members sit on Block 25 of the Clock End at the Emirates Stadium, which is just behind one of the goalposts.

The unique ‘vibe’ to this group is that every single member is compelled to wear a black hoodie or upper garment.

They even have their own Instagram account, where they post pictures of them attending games.

However, the faces of every member are blurred out or erased, probably not to give rival fans to target them in the streets.

Hooligans have a pretty poor reputation in English football, but the Ashburton Army are yet to have been involved in anything ugly or nasty with other sets of fans.

They might be loud and proud, but don’t seem to be the kind to look into causing problems for the other set of supporters. They also hold food donations and other charitable causes to help those in need.

While they might not be liked by the rival fans, the Ashburton Army is starting to gain a lot of support and love from their fellow Gooners for improving the atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium using their vocal nature and musical touch.

As opposed to AFTV which climbed to mainstream heights with its negativity, Ashburton Army continues keeping itself grounded and maintaining its objective of energizing the Arsenal players to keep winning games.

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