Arsenal have confirmed that season tickets for the 2017/18 will drop in price for Gold Members compared to last season – a result of the club falling out of the Champions League into the less glamorous Europa League competition.
The board had already confirmed that prices for Premier League and domestic cup matches would not increase.
In a season ticket renewal email seen by Arseblog News, the club explains:
“We have previously announced that there will be no increase to GA pricing for Premier League, Emirates FA Cup and League Cup games in Season 2017/18. The club has always considered that pricing for the Europa League would be different from the Champions League so we have reviewed our approach for next season and have applied a discount on your season ticket for the Europa League element.”
Some fans had hoped that they might be able to opt out of Europa League fixtures but that has not been sanctioned. The club also appears to have ignored the call of The AST to not include the Europa League group games in the cup credits, they had instead proposed selling the tickets on a match-by-match basis as is the case with the League Cup.
Good to see reduced prices for Europa Lge matches. Pity Group stages included on Season Ticket – result will be scores of empty seats again
— AST (@AST_arsenal) May 22, 2017
The email continues: “Your season ticket will continue to include admission to all 19 home Premier League matches and the first seven home cup matches in European competitions and the Emirates FA Cup, subject to match categorisation held at Emirates Stadium.”
Because Arsenal only played six home cup games this season a single cup credit has also been applied to the balance for next season’s ticket. That value is determined by how much your own seat costs.
For what it’s worth, my ticket (North Bank upper, behind the goal) has reduced by £175 from £1,436 to £1,261 – a decent discount. So a portion of kudos for the club on that. Of course, even with the reduction, Arsenal’s season tickets remain some of the most expensive in world football.
I’m paying £695 for next season down from £1,145 but that includes five credits via the Ticket Exchange. Under £700 = give it another go. £1,145 = your kidding me
You may not see this, but as someone likely to be offered a ST in 2017/18, I’m wondering: how long before the match do games typically sell out (let’s say for an average match when the team is doing reasonably in the league)?
Sounds like there’s going to be a lot of empty seats for the Europa League then! Season Ticket holders unable to sell their seats until the match is officially “sold out”. (through the Ticket Exchange system). If it doesn’t sell out (as happened with the recent Sunderland game), then they have very limited options. If a ST holder can’t attend the game, the only options they have are to (a) leave an empty seat, (b) try and sell below face value through an ‘unofficial channel’ or (c) give away to someone with a Red or Silver membership (through the Ticket… Read more »
I agree. They didn’t accept AST recommendations to make first group stage like the other Mickey Mouse cup and not part of ST. That’s because they know they won’t get big crowds for those matches so prefer to have STH paying up front.
By my calculations, they’re charging £10 for the initial EL games and £20 for the next two rounds.
Do you prefer to go to watch second team players versus Doncaster or Uzbekistan Rovers? For one you can pay an extra £10, for the other you’ll already have paid £10.
Disagreeing with myself here!
A recalculation of figures seems to make all the 5 EL games come in at £10. However, I’m sure they’ll reclassify as Cat A/B if any of those do turn out to be a better known team, the same way Bayern became A although one of first 7 cup ties.
It’s all PR, lowering the price just in time for season ticket renewals. No, wait.
It’s not “some of the most expensive”, it’s the most expensive, and that’s what makes our continual failures even more frustrating.
Comparing like with like is helpful. I believe we are one of the few/only club to include 26 games.
Working on just league games, I think we’re no more expensive than other top clubs in London. On a pure average per game (i. e . £891/26) , we’re the same as likes of Southampton for PL games.
I do prefer our system of not having to apply separately for FA cup/Euro games.
It’s not compulsory!
It’s because they know a lot of fans won’t go to games after such a dismal season.
Instead of lowering prices why don’t they get some decent players and show the fans some real football next season.
Or maybe they could do both!
Oh they will do that. Another Xhaka just before season pass deadline along with bunch of rumors of how we gonna get Lacazette Mbappe Icardi… Before Wenger says we already have Welbeck and Cohesion.
Another Xhaka means 50 millions and would be a great summer.take ur negativty elsewhere #COYGunners
Its being realistic. I want best for my club and the things you find negativity perior every season, I consider them inevitable and as it happened for many years it will happen again. As long as this Kroenke/Wenger/easily fooled fans combo exists. Not that I want these bad things to happen again. Just like this season that I was smashed in forums when said we’ll finish 3rd or 4th. You can either smash the truth or try to change it. Have a good day boy.
As a season ticket holder I’m pleased to have any sort of discount/reduction.
I just hope to know the future of the management before the renewal deadline.
Wont be buying anymore. Not off Kroenkes hands. He has enough of my hard earned. I could almost watch Chelsea Juventus and Real win their leagues for what was paid this term. Wont be fooled again. Not for a dime
I’m sure you will be missed
Im sure Kroenke wont disappoint you 🙂
Sorry to be thick but how do you get to 6 home cup games for the 2016/17 season? I make it 4 UCL games ( 3x group + Bayern Munich) and 1 FA Cup game versus Lincoln = a total of 5 home cup games. Where have I missed one?
They credit back the difference if you don’t get the full 7 cup games.
But they’ll only credited back one games worth, not two. Surely?
Yes but 4+1 = 5
Thanks Doug. I get that and I notice the Club only measure that in terms of ££ rebated, not the number of eligible games played, so it is difficult to work out. I guess it was Arseblog who referred to the 6 cup games last season, whereas I made it only 5 but we can’t really tell from the Club’s email exactly how the refund was calculated. Never mind! A refund is a refund, so we can be happy.
I must be in the same boat as you as I’ve just double checked and I can only see that we’ve played PSG, Basel, Ludogorets, Bayern and Lincoln at home in the CL and FA Cup. That’s 5!
We’ve only played five home ties, not 6. Unless I’m missing something? PSG, Ludogorets, Basel, Bayern and Lincoln. Surely they owe us two games worth of reductions? I’ve only had £44.17 knocked off my renewal offer for my seat in Block 6, Lower North.
I had £52 which would perhaps be 2 lowest catergory games for me.
Sorry misread the first comment.
They explain that we had 1 more Cat A game but 3 less Cat B. So, roughly, 3 x £35 =£105 less £65 =£40 refund. The point is that they can classify games however they like but do have to price them alongside open sales.
Surely the two games we missed were the last 8 and last 4 of the CL! By any stretch of the imagination they had to be Cat A games. I’ve already renewed but this is a stitch-up!
No, your ticket includes 7 cup ties classified at the start as Cat B so that’s all you can get refunded against. We get 5 x Cat A, 6 x Cat C & 15 x Cat B games but they do state “subject to classification” following the previous argument on what was included. I reckon they gave us PSG as a B when it was sold to others as A. So, Bayern was the extra A (with Manure, Citeh, Scousers, Spuds, Chelski being the normal 5) I think the only stitch up is that Lincoln was called a Cat C… Read more »
The club has decided that those two games were cat c. They then have decided that they will refund only what you ŵould get from the rip off ticket exchange system where a 26 quid ticket nets you around 22 quid. Pisstakers.
A lowering of ticket prices for a lowering of standards.
How is it lowered? Were watching most intense league at a great stadium with bests in the world and a class act manager. Without fans lyk you we would actually be at a higher standard and compete for the very top.
Utter madness, the fans who were sold a dream and patiently supported for yrs are to blame for the falling standards. Its one thing to blindly support the manager, but try using better perspective. The fans are the least problem in Arsenal, they are in fact the only victims. The player, manager and board all get paid, let them try doing their job for free and then you can talk of class.
jokes one them now. A little bit at least.
I’m pretty excited that my ST is below £1000! And, tbh, I’m not really gutted about missing CL. The novelty of seeing The Best Teams in Europe wears off pretty fast when A. they’re always the same teams and B. you always lose to them in the same fashion every year. So, yeah, Thursday nights will suck and I acknowledge it’s a stick we’ve always beat sp*rs with, but I’ll take a season of something a bit different.
Very pleased that the club have come out with this decision, and they genuinely sound gutted and sorry that they couldn’t deliver CL football for next season. I still don’t think I will be around for many Europa League matches on a Thursday, especially the early rounds so will be good to sell ticket to kids and people who don’t get to see the club play on a weekly basis.
As suggested above, you better find those kids yourself because the games won’t sell out to use Ticket Exchange!
This is one failure the Board has yet to make amends on.
The ticketing system is poor to say the least.
Europa. Well I wouldn’t over prioritise it if I were Wenger, we should be rotating with bias toward the league. BUT if we go far and win it, why not. Many tend to over inflate our European pedigree pre-Wenger All we’ve won is a third rate European trophy under George Graham. Its not as if we were regulars dining on the top competition in Europe year in year out. In that sense, Wenger has let down his own lofty minimum standard. A bit of perspective. I think he will seek to win the FA cup as a minimum to justify… Read more »
You really don’t know what you’re talking about do you? We won the what is now the UEFA Cup in 1970 as well as the Cup Winners Cup, which was the 2nd ranking competition after the european cup as the winners went on to play the Super Cup the following year, as you’ll no doubt remember we played AC Milan over 2 legs in 94. We also lost 2 further European finals in 1980 and 94. Whilst this isn’t the most illustrious european pedigree it was achieved at a time when 7th or 8th place in the league didn’t qualify… Read more »
Can I just add that (because of Scouse fans at Heysel) English clubs were banned from Europe at a time when we may have done well.
Kroenke – ya gotta spend money to make money! And now you’re losing money!
I think it’s ridiculous to downplay the worth of EL. Yes, it’s not as good as the CL and therefore ticket prices should be discounted. But to throw tantrums and say you won’t attend the europa league games is so arrogant to say the least. What has arsenal done to say we’re too good for the europa league? If we were 5-times winners of the european cup/champions league, then yes, we can say we’re better than the europa league. But have we? No. I really hope Wenger respects the Europa league and has a fair go at it next season.… Read more »
I think both Barca and Bayern will come 3rd in their CL groups just so they will get to play us in the EL ?