Multiple members of staff at Arsenal have reportedly been left 'angered and disappointed' by the club's decision to charge them £859 for travel to the Champions League final. The Gunners face Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest on May 30, but the price of attending has put off some employees.
Arsenal have reached their first Champions League final in 20 years following a 2-1 win on aggregate over Atletico Madrid in the semi-final last week. The match will conclude a potentially historic end to the campaign for Mikel Arteta's side, who are also in pole position to win the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.
The club have been allocated 16,824 general admission tickets by UEFA for the match, which kicks off at 5pm in the Puskas Arena. While PSG are paying for their staff to attend the match in Hungary, Arsenal have taken a different approach.
The Telegraph reports that, while the Gunners have handed out one free non-transferable ticket for the match per employee, they have also organised chartered flights with a third-party travel operator. “Space permitting, colleagues attending the final can opt to purchase a seat on these flights,” employees were reportedly told.
The packages, from SportsBreaks, cost £859 per person and leave London Luton Airport early on the day of the game, with a return flight coming back straight after the match. The report states that around a third of the club's employees have taken up the offer, but there is discontent at the move.
Some feel they have no other option, given many employees will be needed back in London on May 31 for a trophy parade if Arteta's side are victorious against the defending champions. Arsenal have made free tickets available to staff for their screening of the final at the Emirates Stadium as an alternative for those who cannot or do not want to fly to Budapest.
The sky-high costs being passed onto Arsenal employees come in spite of the club pocketing £120 million for their run to the Champions League final this season. It could undermine the sentiments voiced by Arteta after the win over Atletico Madrid last week.
“It's an incredible night,” he said. “We made history again together. I cannot be happier and prouder of everyone involved in this football club. The manner that we got to see outside the stadium was special and unique. The atmosphere that our supporters created, the energy, the way they lived every ball with us, it made it special and unique. I never felt that in the stadium. We knew how much it meant to everybody. We put everything in, the boys did an incredible job. After 20 years and for the second time in our history, we are back in the Champions League final.”
