Wenger says Arsenal 'left their soul' at Highbury when they moved to Emirates

Arsene Wenger says Arsenal 'left their soul' at Highbury when they left the ground to move to the Emirates Stadium.

The iconic stadium was the spiritual home of the North London club between 1913 and 2006 before it was demolished when the 60,000-capacity Emirates had been completed.

'You are always in a position when you are a football club to move forward or stay in the past. To compete with the other clubs, we had to build a new stadium. The rules had changed', Wenger told beIN Sports.

'We wanted to create the same as Highbury but we left our soul at Highbury. We could never recreate exactly. We didn't find exactly the same atmosphere.'

The 70-year-old was an important figure in helping the club move to their new stadium, including helping to design some of the infrastructure such as the layout of the dressing room.

Arsenal's continued lack of progress in Wenger's final years led to sections of fans turning on the decorated Frenchman, who felt a change was needed to re-establish Arsenal to the top, with 'Wenger Out' signs becoming commonplace at the Emirates.

But while the relationship with the fans turned sour during his reign at the Emirates, Wenger says he has nothing but fond memories of the days at Highbury, but says the character of the club is much different to how it was in those days.

'For me, Highbury is linked with love. Love for the period I had, the exceptional attitude of the fans, the exceptional football games I witnessed there. It's a special place in my heart', Wenger added.

'At the time, we were 40 people there, maximum. Today we are 600. We knew everybody. We have moved from a business family to a big company now.

'You sit on the touchline. The supporters are very close to the touchline. When you kick a corner you can shake the hand of the first supporter. That makes you all together on the pitch.

'That togetherness, that warm feeling that you get at Liverpool today, or Everton - that's what you miss.'

Since Wenger left, the Gunners continued to struggle in their progression under successor Unai Emery before he left in November, with the team showing promosing early signs under new boss Mikel Arteta