With their Premier League title hopes dead, the Gunners could face West Brom on Thursday in front of thousands of empty seats as Arsenal fans are expected to show their unhappiness with the season by staying away in droves.
So many Arsenal fans are expected to boycott the match that the club could see their lowest attendance since the club move to the Emirates Stadium. Early indications suggest the Emirates Stadium could be under capacity by up to 20,000 fans, which would be a record low since Arsenal left Highbury in 2006.
The official attendance number will not include all these empty seats as season ticket holders are always included in the attendance figures, but they will certainly impact the the atmosphere inside the Emirates.
The Gunners have seen their Premier League title challenge collapse in disastrous fashion over the past few weeks and Arsene Wenger’s side were booed off after Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace.
While Arsenal players and fans are disappointed in the way that this season ends, they cannot lose sight of the fact that the Gunners have still to lock up a top four finish. Arsenal are currently in fourth place and are only four points ahead of Manchester United.
Normally fans would look at Arsenal’s run-in to the end of the season with games left against West Brom (H), Sunderland (A), Norwich (H), Man City (A) and Aston Villa (H) with confidence. Three games against four of the worst teams in the Premier League should be easy victories.
But if the Emirates suddenly becomes a hostile home stadium then those matches against West Brom, Norwich and Aston Villa suddenly become difficult.
Add in tricky away matches to Sunderland and Man City and this season could get a lot worse for Arsenal fans if they are not careful.
