Good on John Brooks, the assistant referee who tells Joe Hart and Joleon Lescott to go and thank City fans for making the trip to the Emirates after paying the league’s most expensive tickets. Many away fans (about 900 of them) cited the cost of the tickets as a reason to not make the trip.
Arsene Wenger justified the high ticket prices as necessary to keep paying players their wages. This set off a debate with many implying that clubs like City and Chelsea with their blank checks had skewed the market so much these ticket price spikes were inevitable to try and keep Arsenal competitive.
Which is untrue. Arsenal’s median compensation was always high, a reflection of Wenger’s need to make sure there was little daylight between the top and bottom tier talent in the club when it came to the wallet.
These exorbitant amounts charged for tickets are nothing less than price gouging. With more money earned from TV rights, handsome profits from player sales, the debt being paid steadily down on the Emirates, more lucrative sponsorship and commercial deals in the offing, the club is in rosier financial health than their Premiership counterparts. There is no reason why Arsenal needs to keep charging these prices. Especially when they are not commensurate with recent results.