Leicester City are staging a protest this Sunday, by refusing to take to the pitch for the opening five minutes of the weekend’s match at the Emirates, and Arsenal fans have been asked to do the same.
The crunch fixture was moved in order to satisfy the television companies, but with tickets having been on sale since December, deciding to move the match in mid-January is simply unacceptable.
Many fans of both clubs will be out of money because of the move, with many people having paid travel and accomodation costs in order to get to the match, none of which will be compensated.
A large part of the protest is claiming that while the Premier League clubs are raking in excess amounts of money from television rights and sponsors, the fans are not treated fairly, despite the huge role they play.
Without fans in the stadium, the atmosphere would be lacklustre to say the least, and clubs would be foolish to overlook that.
We at Arsenal pay the highest ticket prices in the country, and we have rarely seen all that excess profit spent on players when we need them, such as Arsene Wenger’s refusal to sign a defensive midfielder until this January, despite lacking in the role since Vieira’s departure in 2005.
Arsenal fan group REDAction have urged our fans to follow the Leicester crowd in refusing to take to our seats until five minutes into the match, in disgust at our recent treatment, and no doubt these fans protests will become more regular in the coming years.
I believe we should of course follow the Foxes in their protest, and we most definitely do not get the credit we deserve for the role we play in our beloved club’s success. I do wish it didn’t have to be in such a title-deciding encounter however…
Will/would you be be participating in the organised protest at the Emirates?
£97 a ticket at The Emirates to watch average players like Giroud,Walcott,Flamini etc Arsenal fans are being cheated
Throw in a WC RW, CB & ST i would guarntee Arsenal fans would pay the prices asked now, as we have payed huge amounts as it is over the years and nothing has changed, we are used to it but ur spot on – Paying massives amounts of hard earned money to watch average players playing for our great club in a brand new top of the range football stadium paid by its fans.
The game being moved is nothing to do with the clubs, it’s the tv companies who dictate that. The protest should be against them or the Prem league for signing deals where it gives tv sole rights to change kick off times and dates. Yes protest about ticket prices but don’t get the two things mixed up otherwise no one will know who is protesting against what.
I think that’s a good point.
Each reason has it’s own merits and we don’t want them both to be tarnished by confusion.
Silly question, of course they should join Leicester fans. Ticket prices affect everyone, no matter what club you support.
Of course we should, though I doubt we will..Arsenal fans are more renowned for owning online meaningless campaigns, sponsoring silly and spurious petitions and generally been keyboard warrior…
some fans just know how to do what’s best for their teams out ere……..
At Arsenal, many do what’s best for “Kroenke”
it’s really unfortunate!!!
People could always take my approach, refuse to give AFC any money until Silent Stan sells due to not making any profit.
We all know he would run at the 1st sign of us losing our value.
Then we could get people in who care about football more than profit and get back to playing football for the fans and not the bank account of a foreign billionaire.
I will not take my seat at
the Emirates at all.
Mainly because I do
not have a seat 🙂
I would come to the stadium and protest outside but
I am 18,000 kms away and there are no Saturday night buses.
But I will not tune into Arsenal player radio
until 5 minutes after the start.
Take that greedy board. Y’hear me Ivan !!!
I wouldn’t do that if I were you mate 🙂
You could miss goal or two! 😉
Thats what watching the highlights after are for, to watch what you miss in that 5 mins due to needing the toilet after your 5th or so pint 😛
It is FIVE minutes, not the whole game. Come on dude, support the cause and ignore the 1st 5 mins of the game.
The more people that band together then the more power it will have and the more of a shout it is to those rich pigs.
Must win game. Too important a game for off the field shenanigans, sorry. If it were West Ham I’d be more easily swayed, but for me this weekend is all about the 3 points at stake.
And isn’t it more the reason to do it?
Who cares if it is a game we don’t have to win, the CLUB will not feel that as much, we need to make the people in power to take notice.
like i have said before show me where the borad and kronke honestly profit from the club in real terms like massive dividends and things of that nature. if they were really greedy for more money they would have put the club on the stock market by now to rise the share prices for there shareholders tell me do you see things like this happening then. as for ticket prices it is the the only long term source that the club could secure the long term bonds because the banks and lenders need something secure and dependable before they will give us the bonds/cash to help with the debt. so unfortunately it is one big circle of life
the bonds and banks loans help build the lovely stadium in which we all enjoy watching our great club in
the bonds/debt need to paid for by the ticket prices as they are the most secure ongoing payments at the club.
so in a nutshell no expensive ticket prices no new stadium.
you are seeing the same thing all over the league liverpool taken out bonds for £260million for stadium expansion ticket prices go up to cover this expense.
spuds take out massive loan to build new stadium ticket price go up to be able to cover the costs.
chelsea will be the same when they undergo there new stadium build it s everywhere at the moment. just the fact of life in the modern game unfortunately.
??? well explained mate
Yes why not its the 1st 5mins and will show that fans are what makes football not money, without fans football is nothing! Does not matter how big this game is things need to change, fans being charged too much as clibs make huge amounts each year esp at Arsenal. There will be quite a few protests across the country in the coming weeks/months for each club trying to force fans to pay more.
Sundays games is huge and put that all aside, we have to get the 3points at all costs. Walcott starts up top & Coquelin along side Ramsey would be my 1 suggestion, and Ox starts out RW as that goal might just spurr him on as we know he has something, not working Joel on 60m or so! Pure speed up top, remember Utd?
Cech
Bellerin
Gabriel
Koss
Nacho
Coquelin
Ramsey
Ozil
Ox
Walcott
Sanchez
Our weakest positions are B2B, RW & ST imo. Santi is a big miss but Le Coq back should allow ramsey to bomb forward as we are covered properly at the back and you might just start to see the best of ramsey right before Santi/Wilsheres returns. Ox keeps his place after his performance and goal last weekend, hope he keeps it going. Walcott for Giroud, big man out of sorts at the min, dropping to the bench might fire him up and that competiton we saw earlier in the season between the 2 might come to fruition again, competiton for places is good for us.
Well said ^.^
I also think Giroud needs to be benched for a bit, give him a rest and fire him up, he seems to come back each time with more goals than before.
We have a squad and we should use it.
Sorry but I will be in my seat before kick off. I am there to support my team and shout and cheer them on so hopefully with no Leicester supporters there during the first 5 minutes their team will think they have no support and we will be 2 goals up by the time they find their seats!
I am not missing a second of this game for anything.
Too right. The team needs to be cheered on to the pitch and fans behind the team from kick off. Not waiting for five minutes and then taking ages for 60 000 people to take their seats.
Fans advocating this should think through the effect on the team and the logistics. If fans want to win the PL then this game is a must win game. We need a good start, fans must do their part or accept the consequences which could be to say goodby to PL title.
“I can afford that £97 so fcuk all the people who can’t, I wont do anything till I’m priced out the game”
People have the power to force changes yet it is individual selfishness that stops progress, well done for being another mindless sheep.
Hahaha
It’s funny how Wenger has come and told the fan’s not to protest with the Leicester fan’s and also that there is no problem with the £97 price for the tickets ?
Poor Wenger, he has to try and keep the team harmony and not cause rifts within the team as a whole. He wont point the blame at his boss, his whole managerial career shows that, so he gets the blame from a lot of fans who refuse to think logically.
Silent Stan owns the club.
Silent Stan cares about profits.
Silent Stan owns other sports teams who are not winners but profitable!
Wengers fault tho!
PMSL!
The true generation of arsenal fans have been out priced already. The AFC home fans are nerds
Honestly, This is my personal openion, people who can afford 97 pounds without even thinking about it won’t care. They will come to the stadium and sit there without protesting(Reason why staduim is so quiet recently is because of these guys who just sit there and watch the game). This won’t change until everyone protest.
Some people just don’t care becuase 100 pounds or dollars is nothing for them.
Example: I live in Toronto, the there is NBA all star game this weekend. Some people paid $25000 to sit infront near Drake or Snoop… DUH…
Least ticket price is $700… Just so you know how much people pay here for some random irrelevant game…
That’s a lot of cash just to sit next to Snoop or Drake…
Damn supply and demand 🙁
If the demand doesn’t dwindle then the price will not drop, as long as more than enough people are happy to pay the £97 to fill the stadium then who cares what the poor people think right?
Its a sad truth 🙁
The people have the power but the people are too selfish to act together 🙁
Home advantage is massive support from fans. This is a must win match if we are serious about winning PL.
The team needs total commitment from kick off with the fans behind them. The fans need to be present when the team comes on the pitch.
To consider the teams coming into the pitch and playing to an empty stadium for 5 minutes, then 60 000 people taking the next 20 minutes (perhaps a lot longer) to get to their seats. By then we could be three goals down.
No wonder leicester fans want us to join the protest, gives their team an advantage.
I would prefer a couple/few harsh years and get Silent Stan out then continue to be short sighted and give AFC money to stockpile and for him to turn round and say “Look how much that team is worth, more than the loan to buy a ranch… loan me the money to buy the ranch!”
Do you want AFC to continue being tight fisted in the transfer window?
That isn’t Wengers fault you know, Wenger has a boss and Wenger has NEVER blamed his boss and cause a rift in team harmony.. why ignore that?
I use to buy Arsenal stuff every year and got a collection of older shirts which I will never let go, they make me proud to be an Arsenal fan when I gaze upon the badges, I do miss not having new Arsenal stuff but I want a change. I refuse to give AFC any money until they show that they are going to invest what they earn each year back into the club, having AFC run as a FOOTBALL CLUB will make me the happiest and I urge everyone to not support Silent Stan in his wealth building.
I’ve not given AFC any money since about a year into Silent Stans reign, I refuse to give to his profits and I want him out, I want an owner who loves AFC and will respect our model… not one that wants to have a lot of wealth on paper to buy more toys when he wants.
What do people think will happen to Silent Stan if AFC stops getting money from it’s supporters?
In a dream world then Silent Stans shares would be sold to different wealthy Arsenal supporters who want Arsenal to win stuff, we would not be reliant upon a sole share holder.
I think the logistics of waiting until 5 minutes after kick off before taking a seat needs thinking through. If this is generally supported, large numbers of fans will build up in the bar areas and halls. The stadium operator will be concerned about fans taking their seats 5 minutes after kickoff and causing a crush with possible fatalaties. They will monitor numbers in the halls and at some point shut the turnstiles. When fans start taking their seats they will open the turnstiles. Perhaps by the second half the stadium will be full.
All that will work is a token protest by a few fans. A wholesale protest will result in loss of home support for the team for the first half. Great if you are a leicester supporter. Not great for arsenals hopes of winning PL.
All this talk of £97 is rubbish, try looking at facts not half truths. Yes we have the most expensive seats but there is a range of prices depending on where you sit and what you get for it but we also have the cheapest seats in London when comparing the cheapest available. Also our season tickets include cup games which other teams don’t so try comparing eggs with eggs people!