6665. Hornsey Road, North London

Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024

More from our friend Northbanksy in the railway tunnel adjacent to the Emirates Stadium, home of the mighty Arsenal football club. The tunnel has become a hall of fame for Arsenal players, and a but of a gallery for the artist, with phenomenal footfall on match days. The first piece if of Kai Havertz (not a great likeness), a player who didn’t do too well at Chelsea, but has improved greatly since joining Arsenal. The words ‘waka waka, eh eh’ are a reference to ‘his’ song which reverberates around the stadium when he scores or performs well, as follows:

Tsamina, eh, eh, Waka waka, eh, eh, £60 million down the drain, Kai Havertz scores again

The lyrics are a corruption of Shakira’s hit record ‘Waka waka’.

Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024

The second player featured in Northbanksy’s faux stencil style, is Leandro Trossard, who is a bit of a super-sub, and scores a lot of goals considering the amount of game time he gets. This picture captures Trossard’s binocular goal celebration. The picture is accompanied by a typical football fan pre-match. More to come from Northbanksy.

6631. Hornsey Road, North London

Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024

The road tunnel under the railway on Hornsey Road has become a gallery for the work of Northbanksy and his tribute portraits to a plethora of Arsenal players past and present, and here are a couple more of his stencil-style pieces.

Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024

Thounsands of Arsenal fans shuffle along the pavement on match days and stop to admire and enjoy these, if I am perfectly honest, quite crude pieces. The portrait of Ian Wright is a particular favourite, as he embodies the spirit of Arsenal, and his love for the club is so infectious. This piece is also the only one in the tunnel that includes any colour, so it stands out.

Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024
Northbanksy, Hornsey Road, North London, December 2024

The portrait of Mohamed Elneny, until recently a loyal and long-serving Arsenal player, reminds us of the good natured and team player, who although not the best footballer in the world, did a magnificent job for the club over many years. I absolutely love this gallery by Northbanksy… more to come.

6443. Hornsey Road, North London

Northbanksy, (Mikel Arteta), Hornsey Road, North London (Forever), September 2024
Northbanksy, (Mikel Arteta), Hornsey Road, North London (Forever), September 2024

A short while ago I went up to London for my first football match of the season, to watch the mighty Arsenal play at home to Leicester City. I had arranged to meet a friend in a pub before the match and passed by a wall of black and white stencil pieces by the brilliantly named artist Northbanksy. The North Bank was the north stand at Highbury, the former home of Arsenal FC, where the nosiest home fans would congregate. You can see what Northbanksy has done with his name. This first piece features the Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta, and the quote is from his song, which is as follows:

We’ve got Super Mik Arteta,

He knows exactly what we need,

Kieran at the back, Gabi in attack,

Arsenal on the way to Champions League.

I have seen better stencils if I am honest, but I can’t help loving this.

Northbanksy, (Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka), Hornsey Road, North London (Forever), September 2024
Northbanksy, (Emile Smith-Rowe and Bukayo Saka), Hornsey Road, North London (Forever), September 2024

There are about a dozen or so stencils and this one features two of Arsenal’s home grown players, starboy Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe, who moved to Fulham at the start of this season. Northbanksy has selected a shot of the two that epitomises their friendship and reproduced it for all fans to admire. More to come from Northbanksy soon.