In recent times, the discontent at The Emirates has risen to unprecedented levels. That is not to say that the dissatisfaction is as considerable as it was made out to be by sections of the press, yet undeniably there are ever increasing levels of disgruntled Arsenal fans. In a recent survey by the Arsenal Supporters Trust it became clear just how the mood has changed in north London over the last few years.
In the 2010 survey, AST members were asked to rate their level of satisfaction with the club’s performance. Out of the four options, 50% said they were satisfied and only 11% said they were unsatisfied (the other options were ‘highly’ + ‘slightly’ satisfied). The same survey conducted at the end of last season revealed that only 20% were satisfied and 38% were unsatisfied.
Similarly, when asked whether they felt that Arsenal’s ticket prices represented good value for money only 31% thought that they did and 89% of AST members agreed that Arsenal were right to freeze their ticket prices for the coming season.
Arsenal fans are realistic. They understand that to have a club based on a self-sustaining model will mean that ticket prices will be above average. However, Arsenal’s ticket prices are some of the highest in the world. The average season ticket at Arsenal last year cost £1470 – that’s more expensive than the most extravagant season tickets at Chelsea and Man Utd and is almost twice the price of the most costly season tickets at Man City and Liverpool. In fact Arsenal’s most expensive season ticket is just shy of £2000 – more than double for the equivalent ticket at Manchester United. And that isn’t even including club-level season tickets at Arsenal which range between £2285-£5585.
It is no wonder, then, that Arsenal fans feel that they have the right to voice their concerns with regards to the management of the club.
Yes, the levels of frustration felt are partly a consequence of the team’s lack of on-field success, but the fact that it is hard for the fans to see something tangible that their money has been spent on is also a contributing factor.
To have a cautious transfer policy is acceptable in an era when so many clubs are dangerously frivolous yet for Arsenal fans to pay so much and the club be so frugal is a frustrating policy.
The fans are well aware that the club has stadium incurred debts that need to be reduced yet Arsenal have, since they moved to The Emirates, only spent 70% of the money they received from player sales each season.
In the recently released table demonstrating net spending over the last five years it showed that Arsenal have made a profit of over £20m from player sales alone. On top of that they have sold off various property developments in the area and still have further property deals that will soon be completed.
Each year’s accounts, which are released by the club, have also shown remarkable growth in the commercial side of their business yet still Arsenal’s spending does not dramatically increase.
Not all Arsenal fans are perturbed by the clubs efforts to become as profitable as possible as quickly as possible yet all those who criticised the fans that did vent their anger last season should not be too quick to judge.
Speaking from personal experience, it takes a considerable amount of effort to scrape the money together to afford an Arsenal season ticket and it is only natural that you should expect similar levels of effort from the club. Whether that comes in the form of performances on the field or exertion and consideration in the running of the club does not matter but no other club in the world would have their supporters pay so much and receive so little in return.
Yes, the club has to stick to a sustainable model yet clearly Arsenal can spend more on transfers and wages than they already do and still make a profit. The fans don’t expect to win trophies every season or to be able to buy the same players as clubs like Man City or Chelsea but many would appreciate seeing the club being a little more ambitious than it currently is.
Admittedly Arsenal have announced a new pricing structure for the coming year which will make some games cheaper to attend, yet the money will be made up by increasing the prices to the biggest games of the season.
Before Arsenal moved to their new stadium they only finished outside of the top two twice in ten years. Since the move they haven’t finished higher than third. Season ticket prices may have been frozen for the approaching season but should Arsenal fail to improve on last season’s performances they will have nobody to blame if the Emirates crowd rise up once more.
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