Queues outside the Tollington Arms as Arsenal fans gathered to watch the last game of the season

PUBLICANS in Islington went through “barrels on barrels” of beer on Sunday as fans flocked to the pubs to watch Arsenal lift the Premier league trophy.

Videos were shared online showing people queuing for a space in the pubs as early as 9am, as Arsenal prepared to play their last game of the season, and lift the Premier League trophy after the final whistle.

As the sun shone and the usual Sunday fears of a hungover Monday were negated by the bank holiday, Arsenal fans populated the pubs across the borough, totalling some impressive sales for the establishments.

The Tollington Arms, in Hornsey Road, is one of the most recognisable Arsenal pubs in the borough, a popular watering hole for match-going fans.

Martin Whelan, the publican, told the Tribune that the past week and a half had been “mayhem” at the pub, but that it had been an “absolutely brilliant” week, with constant queues and an enduring party atmosphere.

Nambucca, in Holloway Road, had its busiest day of sales on Sunday since it reopened back in 2024

He said: “We had a ticketed event for Sunday, but we were still absolutely rammed. And when I say rammed, I mean inside and out. There must’ve been nearly 3,000 people trying to get into the pub from the street, we had to send them all to other pubs in the area, like Nambucca.

“We’ve been stocking up on barrels and barrels of beer every few days to deal with the demand. But you’ll never see us run out of beer, we’ll never have our pub dry.

“We’ve been here 20 years and have a good reputation you know, so we looked after our locals and everyone was happy. I’ve had to survive on about three or four hours’ sleep every night this week, so I haven’t even really had the time to enjoy it despite being an Arsenal fan myself. But that’s the life of a publican.”

Stephen Bolger, the general manager of the Highbury Barn Tavern in Highbury Park, said that within half an hour of opening on Sunday the pub had reached its full capacity.

Over the course of the day, he said, they sold a “very healthy” amount of pints, around 4,000, forcing them to “tweak” their stock for the days head.

Martin Whelan, left, and his partner Louise Fitzgerald with former Arsenal player Ray Parlour

He told the Tribune: “It was very jovial, a great atmosphere. We didn’t have any trouble or anything like that, all smooth sailing from our end really. We had a decent amount of security and made sure we had enough staff to deal with the big numbers of people coming through the door.

“Working there on that day was really fun. We had to prepare as we all knew it’d be a really big day. All our staff were there to try and keep the spirit up throughout the day. Everybody there was just completely locked in to the game, it was nice to see.”

Asked if he was an Arsenal fan himself, Mr Bolger responded: “No comment.”

At Nambucca, in Holloway Road, pub records were completely smashed, as Sunday marked the pub’s most successful day of sales since it reopened in 2024. Brandon Gaul, the pub’s manager, told the Tribune: “Sunday was absolutely insane, the busiest day the pub has probably ever had. Almost 2,000 pints of beer and then bottles on top of that.

“We were completely at capacity in the pub and had roughly another 200 people just watching from outside.

“People were jumping in here, the bar was rammed, it was like a purge!

“It really meant something to people around here, basically every day since the victory, we’ve had people in here celebrating from the community.”

Now, attention will turn to Saturday’s Champions League game, with almost
every pub expecting records to be smashed once again.