Harry Diamond
Arsene Wenger has described the Europa League final being held in Baku as ‘a little bit of a nightmare’.
Arsenal and Chelsea were handed just 12,000 tickets between them for next week’s showpiece final in Azerbaijan, despite Baku’s Olympic stadium holding around 69,000.
However, rather surprisingly, neither club has managed to sell their tickets due to the difficulties in getting to Baku, a 2,500 mile journey, and both clubs have reportedly sent back over half their paltry allocation.
UEFA have drawn criticism for their choice of venue and ticket allocation, and former Gunner’s boss Wenger has described the whole situation as a ‘nightmare’.
“It’s a little bit of a nightmare [for the fans],” Wenger told BBC Sport.
“The teams have no problem. They live in ideal conditions – they have their private jet, nice business seats. But it’s the fans.”
Wenger also discussed Mkhitaryan’s situation, with the 30-year-old set to miss the final for safety reasons due to political tensions between his native Armenia and the host country.
“[Mkhitaryan’s situation] is something that should not happen in football.
“I feel it’s not normal that in 2019 – inside Europe, with very sophisticated democracies – that you cannot play for political reasons.”
Wenger also opened up about life after leaving the Emirates, saying he misses the ‘competition’ and admits he will always be a supporter of the North London side.
“I miss competition and I miss Arsenal because I left my heart in there,” he added.
“I gave my life to this club for 22 years. Every minute of my life was dedicated to this club and I miss the values we developed inside the club.
“I support Arsenal. It will be forever my club.”
See also: Wenger still planning return to football, but maybe not as a manager
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