Arsenal ticket price increase larger than inflation

The official Arsenal FC website has announced that the club will be increasing ticket prices by 3% next season. The North London club already have the most expensive tickets in the country with some games setting fans back as much as £123.50. The cheapest ticket they have on offer for category A games, against the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea or Tottenham Hotspur, is £62.

However, the club claims that the increase is in line with inflation, but this isn’t strictly true. Inflation currently stands at 2.2% in the UK.

To give some perspective, with the 3% increase, Arsenal fans would pay an extra £70.40 over the course of the season for the most expensive match day ticket. At 2.2%, they would be paying an extra £51.60.

The club had frozen prices for this season after backlash from fans, particularly visiting supporters, who refused to pay the £62 asked of them.

“The only way we can pay the wages and compete without any external help is through the ticket prices because it is our main income,” Wenger said last season. “Therefore we are in this situation where of course the prices are high. It is down to every individual to decide ‘Do I spend the money or not to go anywhere to watch anything? If you want to go to a concert tomorrow, you look at the price of a ticket and after if it is too high for you, you say yes or no. That is everybody’s individual responsibility. What is very important is that we try to give value for money and that our attitude is absolutely 100% committed to try and achieve that.”

Arsenal haven’t won a trophy since 2005.