Arsenal will play PSV at home in the Champion’s League on Wednesday night. But with the club already 7-1 up on aggregate, fans fear the stadium may be emptier than usual.
The Gunners achieved their best result of the season when they thrashed the Dutch side in Eindhoven last week. But with many tickets to be sold and nothing at stake (barring a miracle), the club could be a victim of its own success.
On Monday night, Arsenal posted on social media urging fans to buy tickets for the fixture. But supporters will have to pay between £74.30-£141 to attend the match.
This is because the match was designated ‘Category A’ (the highest price bracket) when the tickets went on sale in February.
Ticket holders who don’t want to attend the game sell their tickets on the club’s official exchange platform. Anyone wishing to buy a ticket will have to pay full price, as well as being an Arsenal member, which costs £34 annually.
Demand for Arsenal tickets has soared in recent seasons, as Mikel Arteta’s side have challenged for the title and finished second in the last two Premier League seasons.
“It will be like a training session”
TikToker Rory Cook, whose RoryTalksFootball and RoryTalksArsenal have a combined 380,000 views, says he’s expecting a “weird” atmosphere at the game. “I kind of don’t blame the club because yes, I thought it was a bit cheeky going for a Category A price band for this fixture anyway. But they certainly would have sold out no problem had the tie been close.”
Charles Ashmore, a season ticket holder of forty years, is also attending the game. “Nobody in their right minds would have anticipated us winning 7-1 at PSV,” he says. “I sympathise with the club on this one. In a way, they’re unlucky that the team outperformed themselves last week. 9 times out of ten this would genuinely be a grade A game with genuine jeopardy.”
“Fleecing fans”
Other fans were less sympathetic. In response to Arsenal’s callout to buy tickets, season ticket-holder and gambling-harm activist Matt Zarb Cousin tweeted: “Stop milking the fans at any given opportunity. Making this Category A was absolutely criminal and you’ll get the atmosphere at the ground you deserve.”
Popular Arsenal X user Connor Humm replied: “Category A for this is unacceptable. Are you surprised there are seats available? Fleecing fans.”
However, because the price was decided weeks before the first-leg thrashing, there is no way for Arsenal to lower the ticket price before the match at the Emirates. It is not possible to resell tickets on the exchange for anything other than face value. This is primarily designed to prevent people reselling at higher rates.
Zarb Cousin says it should be possible to reduce the price of resale tickets and reimburse the original buyers. “The club has to make a judgement call,” he argues. “Making the players play in a half empty stadium is punishing them for playing well in the first leg. The priority should always be to fill the ground.”
Despite this, many including Cook and Ashmore plan to attend as normal and bring others along. “I’ve never seen this situation before, at least in the existence of the ticket exchange.” Says Cook. “So I’m sure it’s a learning curve for the club. And yeah, it’s just going to be strange.”
Arsenal FC did not respond to request for comment.
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HeadlineArsenal v PSV: Will fans actually show up?
Short HeadlineArsenal v PSV: Will fans actually show up?
StandfirstSupporters will have to pay at least £74 to attend the match with Arsenal 7-1 up on aggregate
Arsenal will play PSV at home in the Champion’s League on Wednesday night. But with the club already 7-1 up on aggregate, fans fear the stadium may be emptier than usual.
The Gunners achieved their best result of the season when they thrashed the Dutch side in Eindhoven last week. But with many tickets to be sold and nothing at stake (barring a miracle), the club could be a victim of its own success.
On Monday night, Arsenal posted on social media urging fans to buy tickets for the fixture. But supporters will have to pay between £74.30-£141 to attend the match.
This is because the match was designated ‘Category A’ (the highest price bracket) when the tickets went on sale in February.
Ticket holders who don’t want to attend the game sell their tickets on the club’s official exchange platform. Anyone wishing to buy a ticket will have to pay full price, as well as being an Arsenal member, which costs £34 annually.
Demand for Arsenal tickets has soared in recent seasons, as Mikel Arteta’s side have challenged for the title and finished second in the last two Premier League seasons.
“It will be like a training session”
TikToker Rory Cook, whose RoryTalksFootball and RoryTalksArsenal have a combined 380,000 views, says he’s expecting a “weird” atmosphere at the game. “I kind of don’t blame the club because yes, I thought it was a bit cheeky going for a Category A price band for this fixture anyway. But they certainly would have sold out no problem had the tie been close.”
Charles Ashmore, a season ticket holder of forty years, is also attending the game. “Nobody in their right minds would have anticipated us winning 7-1 at PSV,” he says. “I sympathise with the club on this one. In a way, they’re unlucky that the team outperformed themselves last week. 9 times out of ten this would genuinely be a grade A game with genuine jeopardy.”
“Fleecing fans”
Other fans were less sympathetic. In response to Arsenal’s callout to buy tickets, season ticket-holder and gambling-harm activist Matt Zarb Cousin tweeted: “Stop milking the fans at any given opportunity. Making this Category A was absolutely criminal and you’ll get the atmosphere at the ground you deserve.”
Popular Arsenal X user Connor Humm replied: “Category A for this is unacceptable. Are you surprised there are seats available? Fleecing fans.”
However, because the price was decided weeks before the first-leg thrashing, there is no way for Arsenal to lower the ticket price before the match at the Emirates. It is not possible to resell tickets on the exchange for anything other than face value. This is primarily designed to prevent people reselling at higher rates.
Zarb Cousin says it should be possible to reduce the price of resale tickets and reimburse the original buyers. “The club has to make a judgement call,” he argues. “Making the players play in a half empty stadium is punishing them for playing well in the first leg. The priority should always be to fill the ground.”
Despite this, many including Cook and Ashmore plan to attend as normal and bring others along. “I’ve never seen this situation before, at least in the existence of the ticket exchange.” Says Cook. “So I’m sure it’s a learning curve for the club. And yeah, it’s just going to be strange.”
Arsenal FC did not respond to request for comment.
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