Arsenal Overstated Attendance Figures for 2014-15 Premier League Season

Arsenal’s claims of sell-out crowds despite pockets of empty seats at the Emirates Stadium have long been a source of bemusement to a lot football supporters, and a report has revealed the club overstated their official attendance figures last season.

According to Oliver Todd of the MailOnline, the numbers reported by Arsenal were up to 1,155 more per game than those accrued by the police. That’s after data released by the Metropolitan Police under Freedom of Information laws reveal the numbers were bolstered by 21,953 supporters as whole in the 2014-15 term.

As noted by Todd, Arsenal publish their attendance figures based on the amount of tickets sold, not the supporters who actually go through the turnstiles at the Emirates on the day. It’s something Alan Alger of Betway picked up on recently during the Gunners’ Champions League clash with Olympiakos:

It’s claimed in the piece that on two occasions during the last campaign, games against Sunderland and Swansea City, there was a disparity of over 5,000 between Arsenal’s attendance and the police attendance.

Jamie McDonald/Getty Images

The two matches in question were midweek clashes at the end of the season in which Arsenal, a long way off in the Premier League title race at the time, had little to play for.

An Arsenal spokesperson was quoted in the piece, insisting this is standard practice for the majority of sports teams: “We are clear in all our communication that the attendance figures we announce reflect the number of tickets sold. This is in line with most sports stadia.”

The Gunners do have a Ticket Transfer service, where supporters who can’t go to the game can sell on their tickets to others who are chasing a ticket. According to the spokesperson, around 70,000 tickets changed hands via this platform during the 2014-15 season.