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7 months ago
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As hundreds of Arsenal fans pour in to Germany the price for a last minute ticket to see their Champions League tie against Bayern Munich has reached a hefty £6,000, MailOnline can reveal.
Such is the demand for seats for the highly anticipated quarter final second leg match secondary sites are charging thousands for a seat.
One site was offering a ticket for Wednesday night’s match at the Allianz Arena in Munich for an eye watering £4,000.
A booking fee of £1,500 was on top of the price meaning a fan must shell out the average cost of three season tickets at a Premier League club for a one off match.
Popular secondary sites such as Stubhub and Viagogo are selling tickets with a face value of £150 for more than £1,000.
Arsenal are in Germany for their crucial Champions League clash with Bayern Munich
Arsenal received an allocation of just 3,779 for the match at the 75,000 capacity Allianz Arena
Those hoping to get last-minute tickets could have to pay as much as £6,000 to get a seat
Popular secondary sites such as Stubhub and Viagogo are selling tickets with a face value of £150 for more than £1,000
Local fans in Munich have been able to buy a standing only ticket for £18 with most seats in the arena – where the Euro 24 final will be played in the summer – costing an average of £70 each.
Hundreds of ticketless Arsenal fans arriving in the city are driving the high prices as they attempt to see their team’s first Champions League quarter final in 14 years.
While secondary ticket sites are known to charge a premium airlines are also cashing in on fans.
Flights back to the UK the day after the match have skyrocketed.
Budget airline EasyJet are charging £800 for a one-way seat back to London Gatwick- the same price as a economy return to New York.
Other airlines have also jacked up their prices with a flight to Heathrow on British Airways selling for £681.
Arsenal have sold out their full allocation of 3,779 tickets – a fraction of the stadium which has a capacity of 75,000.
Due to fears of violence among fans the German club have said any fans wearing the Arsenal team colours or scarf will not be admitted to the ground unless they have a confirmed ticket for the away end.
Police and stewards will be on duty at turnstiles used by the vast majority of Bayern fans.
There are fears of violence with Bayern advising fans wearing Arsenal colours they won't be allowed into the ground unless they have a confirmed ticket for the away end
Arsenal fans took turns punching a Bayern Munich fan who had infiltrated the Emirates last week
Mindful of the violence that broke out at the Emirates stadium last week when a Bayern fan was punched as he was being ejected they are anxious to avoid a similar scene.
Bayern fans were unable to take up their 7,000 allocation following a ban by UEFA on travelling supporters after previous crowd trouble against Lazio when fireworks were launched on to the pitch.
A handful of Bayern were able to buy tickets online from the secondary re-sell market and mingle with home supporters.
A video of a Bayern fan being punched as he was ejected went viral and led to an investigation by the North London club.
Bayern want to avoid a repetition of the violence and will only allow Arsenal fans through turnstiles at the north end of the stadium where they have allocated seats.
Hundreds of police will be on duty for the match as there is the added threat of an ISIS attack on the Champions League games.
An ISIS propaganda outlet published a photo ahead of a league game showing fans with a red target on them, though police in Munich have said they are on full alert
An ISIS propaganda outlet called Sarh al-Khilafah published a photo of the Allianz Arena ahead of a domestic league game at the weekend showing fans with a red target on them.
Next to the photo was Arabic words that means ‘ after the game.’
There was no hint of trouble, but police in the city said they are on full alert and police presence at the match between Bayern and BVB was substantially increased.
Police in Munich were out in force as thousands of Arsenal fans began arriving with several vans and cars lined up at the main railway station as it was one of the main entry point with trains from the airport.
Mark Davis, 62, from Coventry, said they had been able to pay just £40 for a ticket as they were Arsenal season ticket holders.
‘We booked early with flights about £160 and hotel £90. The match ticket was only £40, but that was because we were able to book early, he said.
Tony Murphy, 61, from Warwick, said:’ It is not cheap to follow our team abroad, but we feel it is worth it.’
Mark Davies (third right with friends Tony Murphy, Adam Murphy and Dean Stringfellow) said he was able to pay just £40 for a ticket due to being an Arsenal season ticket holder
Local fans in Munich have been able to buy a standing only ticket for £18 with most seats in the arena – where the Euro 24 final will be played in the summer – costing an average of £70 each
Friends Sundeep Pabla, Harriet Chadda and Dave Deo said their three day jaunt to Munich will have cost £1500.
As season ticket holders they were able to pay just £50 for their match tickets that were purchased through Arsenal.
Hotels, air fares and meals took the totals to £1,500- but all said seeing Arsenal was worth every penny.
It’s not cheap, but we would not be anywhere else’s said Sundeep.
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