Arsenal Football Club have an enormous, fiercely passionate fanbase, and this can make match tickets very hard to get your hands on, especially if you aren’t one of the club’s 45,000 season ticket holders. Because there is such a high demand for tickets, the club have introduced a membership scheme, which allows fans to improve their chances of attending matches, without having to commit to going every week by purchasing a season ticket.
In this article, we will be explaining how to get Arsenal tickets through the membership scheme, how much these might cost, and comparing the price of Arsenal’s tickets to other Premier League teams.
How Do You Get Arsenal Match Tickets?
Well, if you aren’t a season ticket holder, your best chance of acquiring match tickets would be to join the north London club’s Red Membership scheme. This membership costs £34 for the season, and allows you access to the priority ticket purchase window, which takes place around six weeks before each fixture.
In this window, 3,500 tickets are sold exclusively to members, who can also buy multiple tickets through the Friends and Family option, meaning that you can bring the whole gang along! However, it is worth noting that, whilst being a member raises your chances of getting match tickets, this is in no way secured, as most games rapidly sell out. Both home and away tickets can be purchased through this system, but away tickets sell out even more quickly, so you have to be speedy and lucky.
Whilst this may still seem like a very difficult way of getting your hands on Arsenal tickets, there is another option. If you miss out on access during the priority window, don’t fear, the Ticket Exchange is here! This is a scheme exclusively available to members, where season ticket holders can sell their ticket to a game if they’re unable to make it, giving members another opportunity to buy tickets to see their beloved Gunners. The exchange gives season ticket holders a safe and secure way of reselling their tickets, and the money made from this can either be withdrawn or deducted from next year’s season ticket price.
What Are the Other Benefits of Being a Member?
Alongside priority access to match tickets, being a Red Member has a number of other benefits. For example, members get access to My Arsenal Rewards, which is the club rewards programme, described by the Arsenal website as “giving you the chance to win prizes and money-can’t-buy experiences.” Through purchasing tickets, attending matches or engaging with the My Arsenal Rewards hub, members can earn points, which can be used to redeem against different products or prizes.
These could include a tour of the training ground, match-worn shirts, tickets to games, or even the chance to read out the team line-ups at the Emirates Stadium! So, we’ve rounded up how the club’s membership works, but how much do Arsenal tickets actually cost?
How Much Do Arsenal Tickets Cost?
Well, there is no simple answer to this question, as Arsenal ticket prices vary significantly based on where you are sat for the game, and what category of match you are attending. It is worth noting that in this article we will be using full-price adult tickets to compare prices, but with the Red Membership discount applied. However, before we delve into exact numbers, we will first explain what match categories are, and how these impact the cost of tickets.
What Are Match Categories?
Match categories are effectively used as a ranking system to describe how important each Arsenal fixture is, based on the quality of the opponent. For example, if the club are playing their north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur, which is arguably the most important game of the season, this will be classed as a category “A” fixture, and tickets will therefore be more expensive than “B” or “C” fixtures.
This system of categorising fixtures, or something very similar, is used by most teams in the Premier League, with “A” matches typically meaning those against the “Big Six” or local derbies. Category B matches are usually against mid-table sides, such as Leicester City or Aston Villa, whilst “C” games are usually against newly promoted or relegation-threatened teams, such as Bournemouth or Southampton.
The same ranking system is also in place for Arsenal’s FA Cup fixtures, but is slightly different when it comes to European games. Instead of using the A, B and C categories for their Europa League games, the club instead use EL1-EL4, with the most important games being EL1. For example, the club’s group game against FC Zurich was classed as EL4, yet their upcoming knockout fixture against Sporting Lisbon is EL3, due to the game’s superior importance and Sporting’s reputation and stature.
Ticket Prices by Match Category
Below, we have created a table to show much Arsenal tickets cost, depending on the category of game that you are attending. We have also compared the most expensive and cheapest ticket prices for each category, to show how this price varies based on where in the ground you are sat.
It is also worth noting that the ground’s most expensive seats are located in the Centre Upper tier, whilst the most affordable seats are in the Goal Lower section of the lower tier.
| Match Category | Most Expensive Ticket | Cheapest Ticket |
|---|---|---|
| A | £131 | £66 |
| B | £75.50 | £38 |
| C | £53 | £27 |
How Do Arsenal’s Ticket Prices Compare to Other Premier League Clubs?
£131 might seem like a rather extortionate price for a single match ticket, but how does it compare to other Premier League clubs? Well, we have compiled a table below to show the different ticket prices for a range of different teams. We have once again gathered both the most expensive and cheapest tickets for each club, applying membership discounts where these are available. It is also worth noting that these are all category A (or a club’s equivalent) prices and once again are for adults.
| Club | Most Expensive Ticket | Least Expensive Ticket |
|---|---|---|
| Arsenal | £131 | £66 |
| Newcastle | £58 | £25 |
| Liverpool | £59 | £9 |
| Tottenham Hotspur | £98 | £52 |
| Leeds United | £52 | £39 |
| West Ham | £95 | £65 |
| Chelsea | £71 | £25 |
What we can clearly see here is that Arsenal’s ticket prices are indeed very expensive compared to other Premier League sides, especially when considering that their most affordable ticket is pricier than Liverpool’s cheapest. Of course, if the Gunners manage to win the league and continue playing the fine football they have under Mikel Arteta, many fans will feel that this is a bargain.
That said, for many others, especially in poorer areas of London and fans travelling from further afield, such prices are simply unaffordable. This is the nature of the modern, cash-rich game unfortunately, with supply and demand also a factor. In addition, with many tourists visiting the capital and eager to experience the atmosphere and spectacle of a Premier League game, there are further pressures to consider. Indeed, many London clubs clearly feel as if they can charge a lot more too – just look at how much the Hammers are charging!