Arsenal defender Jen Beattie admits bumper crowd attendances are ‘surreal’

Arsenal’s Jen Beattie still finds playing in front of big crowds “surreal” (Mark Robinson/McDonald’s handout)

Arsenal supporters may now be accustomed to packing the Emirates Stadium for women’s matches but the experience of playing in front of tens of thousands remains “surreal” to veteran Jen Beattie.

The Glaswegian returned for a second spell with the Gunners in 2019 having previously won a league title, two FA Cups and a pair of League Cups in a four-year stint between 2009 to 2013.

On Tuesday, Arsenal announced 40,000 tickets have already been sold for their Women’s Super League encounter with defending champions Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on December 10 – a figure which is becoming a regular occurrence rather than any kind of novel development.

Despite the large attendances becoming more routine, Beattie admitted to the PA news agency: “They’re still exciting. I don’t think it will ever not be.

“I mean I’m 32, I’ve been in the game for a long time, I’ve played in front of crowds that aren’t that big, so to still be a part of it now and to see the crowd numbers growing and becoming consistent is surreal, to be honest.

“But it’s credit to the club, the way that they’ve pushed the funding behind the marketing, behind games, and of course, the fans that have bought into what we’re trying to do.

“I don’t think selling out the Emirates will ever become normal for me. It will be just as surreal and just as exciting every single time. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

Huge crowds at the Emirates Stadium are becoming routine (Steven Paston/PA)

The numbers speak for themselves. On October 1, Arsenal set a new WSL attendance record of 54,115 when they played Liverpool at the Emirates in their league opener,