Before you stop reading, thinking this is another moan about the club and how expensive our tickets are, please calm yourself down. Yes, this is a moan about ticket prices, but a moan with a difference.

So often the club is dug out by the press and opposing clubs for having the highest tickets in the land. Now before I move in, I agree, our prices are too high. £1000 for a season ticket is too much. £2000 for one is crazy money. And charging away fans £64 is ludicrous. But that is not the point of this blog.

When the recent proposal on capping away tickets at £30 was rejected, it was highlighted that “Greedy Arsenal – with the most expensive away tickets – led the argument against”.

What was ignored however is that when it comes to away tickets, Arsenal are not the greedy ones.

When you actually look at what Arsenal charge away fans already, in comparison to other clubs, we are actually quote reasonable.

I did a comparison this morning, and what it shows is that Arsenal fans get charged more at 13 grounds up and down the country, than Arsenal charges fans of those clubs.

Only the 5 Category A games (Spurs, Man U, Man City, Chelsea & Liverpool) and Watford (a difference of 50p) charge Arsenal fans less.

In fact, over the 19 away games, an Arsenal fan will be charged between £833 – £850 (due to some ground having lower & upper tier), whilst in total, Arsenal only charge the away fan £648.50. A difference of around £200

It is the biggest con in football. Categories. Clubs being charged more for having a good away following. Clubs fleecing opposing fans just because they support a popular club. Arsenal are greedy, yes, but almost every other side is equally as greedy.

The Premier League proposal was to cap away tickets at £30. Arsenal currently offer 5 tickets below this. Yet Arsenal away fans are do not get any tickets below £30.

When you take it to under £40, it is even worse. Every Arsenal game, bar the 5 Cat A games, are under £40. This season, a loyal Arsenal travelling fan will only get charged under £40 in 4 games.

When the BBC’s “Price of Football” comes out, clubs who have cheaper season tickets often have a go at Arsenal for their ticket price. And rightly so, however what they fail to remember is that every time Arsenal go to their ground, the side they praise for offering cheap season tickets come over with the greedy green eyes and hyke of the ticket prices.

And it is not just at home where Arsenal fans are getting mugged off.

A lot is made about how cheap football is abroad. Everyone always go’s on about how Barcelona do a season ticket for just over £100. So when we travel abroad to watch The Arsenal, we should expect cheap tickets, correct?

Of course, a club like Barcelona would never dream of upcharging fans depending on the appointment would they.

Yet for tickets at the Nou Camp, Arsenal fans are being charged £64. The exact same cost that we were up in arms about (and Barcelona plan to protest about) Arsenal charging.

So it seems again, the greed of Arsenal is continually highlighted, yet the greed of other sides is swept under the carpet.

There is clearly current issues with ticket prices over land and sea. Every club is greedy. Whilst I do not defend Arsenal, it is time the British media gave the situation a fair discussion. Do not just dig out Arsenal, dig out every Premier League side, and those in Europe, who dramatically increase the ticket prices just because of who they are playing.

Fans of Arsenal, Man U, Chelsea, spurs, Man City & Liverpool get ripped off everywhere they go, just because of who they support.

Keenos

Follow @KeenosAFC