Over 30,000 seats left empty at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium last season as club “overstate attendance” by 5,000 fans per game
More than 30,000 seats were left unoccupied at Arsenal's Emirates Stadium last season according to police figures which reveal the club may have exaggerated its overrall attendance by nearly 22,000.
Nearly every Premier League fixture at Arsenal's 60,432 capacity home is claimed to be a sell-out, despite the most expensive matchday and season ticket prices in the country.
The club claimed to have an average Premier League attendance of 59,992 last season – an occupancy of 99.3 per cent – yet data released by the Metropolitan Police puts the figure closer at 58,836 – an occupancy of 97.4 per cent.
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According to the Met's figures, published in the Mail, there were on average 1,596 empty seats per game last season.
Arsenal measure attendance based on number of tickets sold rather than the number of people inside the ground on matchdays, meaning season ticket holders who opt to stay at home are included.
Yet the Met's figures -measured by bodies through the turnstiles – suggest the club's overall attendance was inflated by 21,593 – an average of 1,155 per game.
However, Arsenal's attendance according to Police figures did increase significantly upon the previous season when it was reported to be 53,788.
The Gunners' biggest attendance in the 2013/2014 season was 57,341 for the visit of Liverpool, while last season games against Crystal Palace, Burnley and Leicester all attracted 60,000.