I am usually the last person to stand up for the suits at the Arsenal but over the years I have heard fans of other clubs complaining how increases in their season ticket prices have been hidden amongst the reduction in the number of cup games included. As usual I have absolutely no facts to back my thoughts up with and I don't think I've seen a true comparison of season ticket prices, showing a price per game figure but I have a feeling we might come out quite favourably in such a comparison, against the likes of Spurs and Chelsea.

I believe our season ticket prices are similar to those at Spurs and I remember being shocked that friends of mine were paying more than us for an incredibly cramped wooden seat, with a relatively similar view to the one I used to have in the West Upper at THOF. However I think they only get three Cup games included in their tickets (I guess with their board making the correct assumption that they are going to get knocked out of tournaments in the first round :-) and I believe the likes of WHU fans don't get any Cup games included in theirs and I therefore believe that if you divide the cost by the number of games, the prices of our tickets work out somewhat less expensive than what our friends downthe road are paying for a far inferior product

I appreciate the argument that the club are getting all the money for cup games up front but I for one have always loved the fact that our season ticket was just that a "season" ticket, guaranteeing me a seat at every home game. Having such a shambolic lifestyle, I would hate to have to start worrying each season, when the cup credits were running out and when I needed to start applying for match tickets. Perhaps I am mistaken and in these less devoted, more discerning times there are more Gooners who want to pick and choose their games, but I've always assumed that, like myself, the reason for buying a season ticket was to be able to attend every home game, whether this be a bunch of bench warmers playing Doncaster Rovers in the third round of the FA Cup, or our first XI against AC Milan in the Champions League. If this is still true, then it's always made sense to save all the unnecessary bother of forcing season ticket holders to apply for tickets to cup games, by including them in our tickets.

What's more, I've always enjoyed the idea that it costs us exactly the same to watch us play the likes of Barca as Barnsley (well actually I used to adore the idea that I was watching these glamorous games for free, as at THOF we used to get moved to accommodate UEFA sponsors and used to get a refund for the cost of our tickets!). But I have little doubt that if we were paying for these games individually, the categorisation of games according to demand would mean that we'd be paying through the nose for the more glamorous ones.

Also when there were two group stages in the Champions League, qualification for the second stage accounted for six of the seven cup games and so comparatively speaking, in recent seasons we've had great value for our money, when you think of all the great European football we've enjoyed, while at the wrong end of the Seven Sisters Rd, their season was over in January and they were lucky if they got to make use of onlythree cup vouchers before exiting the FA Cup against such entertaining teams as WBA and Wigan!

So in this particular respect, I am not whinging (for once!)

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