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21st Apr 2016

Arsenal fans boycott West Brom game in their droves

Staying away

Tom Victor

Thousands of Arsenal fans are believed to have boycotted the club’s Premier League meeting with West Bromwich Albion.

As many as 20,000 were believed to be considering staying away and, while official attendance figures are yet to be confirmed at the time of writing, a number of empty seats could be seen in the first half of Thursday night’s match.

TV commentators attributed the empty seats to issues with the Piccadilly line, though the Holloway Road and Arsenal stations were not among the section of the line affected.

The game is believed to have sold out, though with season ticket holders making up the majority of those absent it will be tough to gauge the full extent of the boycott.

The move follows another underwhelming end to the season, which saw the North London club top of the league in January but all but out of the title race before May.

Manager Arsene Wenger has insisted he will not walk away, though suggestions of limited transfer spending over the summer has angered a number of supporters.

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