Those of you who went to Spirals prior to its recent relaunch will remember it as a garishly-coloured monster of a place, with shiny metal walls daubed with red and blue paint. Sadly, the bar never quite managed to find an audience – possibly because of the bizarre decor, but probably because of its out-of-the-way location in Al Barsha. Either way, the management decided to go for a redesign, replacing the blue-and-red fuzzy sofas with refined dark wood chairs and covering up the paint with tasteful (if slightly cheap-looking) beige wall coverings.

Spirals has also rebranded itself as an ‘Arsenal tavern’, but beyond some Arsenal banners and a few framed football shirts on the walls there’s fairly little evidence of its affiliation – a half-Arsenaled effort, if you will. Still, the TV and projector screens and spacious interior mean that Spirals is more than capable of handling a football-hungry crowd.

So what does that leave you with? Well, outside of match hours you’ll find an acceptable but slightly underwhelming hotel bar. Aside from the sports screens, a pool table and various charming posters featuring famous quotes on drinking (this is not a bar in denial about its purpose), there isn’t much to recommend or condemn. The food is serviceable, the staff are keen and, if you’re in the area, you could certainly do worse.