Arsenal have announced their plans reopen the Emirates Stadium in October, starting with Sheffield United face-off.
The North London side intend to introduce a balloting system, which would pick fans that would be allowed into the Emirates stadium, although at a reduced capacity of almost 50%.
A statement via the clubs website Arsenal.com , on this decision read: “Although our home fixture against West Ham will be played behind closed doors, based on the current UK government guidelines, we hope to be able to welcome supporters back to the Emirates stadium on a reduced capacity basis from the Sheffield United game scheduled for Saturday 3 October.”
“While we finalise the details surrounding our reduced capacity matches, we want to update you on our plans to welcome you back to Emirates Stadium safely. In devising an agile plan for the season ahead, we are focused on maximising the number of supporters able to safely attend matches at Emirates Stadium”.
The statement also explained how the ballot procedure is expected to work and the plan of charging fans for an “initial payment”, instead of the full amount for a season ticket.
“As the capacity at Emirates Stadium will be significantly reduced and the demand is expected to be very high, we will ballot all home Premier League, UEFA Europa League and Emirates FA Cup fixtures in groups of matches.”
Arsenal have just completed the signing of Brazilian defender Gabriel Magalhes from Lille for a reported £23.5 million fee, which could rise to £28 million. They also have their eyes on Atletico Madrid midfielder, Thomas Partey, with Arteta looking to build up his team and improve on the 8th place finish and FA Cup trophy from the previous season.