Ange Postecoglou exposes huge Arsenal issue ahead of unique Bayern Munich spectacle

There are few terms that frustrate me more than when other supporters label fellow Arsenal fans as 'tourists' or 'plastics'. Clubs and stadia should not be gatekept by supporters thinking they have some divine right over someone else because of the luck of where or when they were born.

It has been made worse, or perhaps just brought to the forefront of the minds of those who follow the Gunners with the situation regarding the ballot ticketing system that was implemented at the club in the past couple of seasons. Where fans before had to wait in a queue before being allowed into the site to secure their tickets, now fans apply to a ballot and are informed whether they were successful or not.

There has been vocal outrage on social media from supporters who previously had far less trouble gaining access to tickets now being restricted to far fewer games. Despite their criticism, the ballot system is certainly the fairest way of allocating tickets to fans who want to attend — although it is not yet a refined process.

Improvements could be made in the form of a cooldown system to give supporters a fairer chance of attending games compared to people who have had more frequent success. Furthermore, the ballot does make it, rather ironically considering the topic, tougher for fans from abroad to plan trips considering they have to be informed of their success before committing to travel plans.

The queue system before typically could only be accessed by fans who were able to log onto the site on certain mornings, ruling out key workers like teachers or NHS staff from ever having a chance of getting a ticket. The ballot means more people are applying to get tickets and at the same time the demand has never been higher with Arsenal