Arsenal claim attendance for BATE Borisov game was 54,648 but clarify 'real' number is lowest at the Emirates

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Arsenal thrashed Belarusian side BATE Borisov 6-0 on Thursday night to round off their Europa League group stage campaign in style, but did so in front of a half-empty stadium.

The club claimed that the official attendance on the night was an impressive 54,648, a healthy number for the second-tier European competition on a bitterly cold night in north London. However, as the players emerged from the tunnel, it quickly transpired that the actual number of supporters inside the Emirates Stadium was significantly fewer.

In fact, despite Arsenal’s claim, it’s understood that fewer than 30,000 attended the match inside the 60,000-seat stadium, leading to large areas of empty seats being on display throughout the match.

Arsenal did not let the lack of support stand in their way as the gulf in class between the Premier League side and Borisov was fully exposed in a 6-0 thrashing that saw them qualify in top spot in Group H and secure a place among the top seeds in the last-32 draw on Monday.

A number of rival fans have criticised Arsenal this season for claiming matches have “sold-out” when empty seats are visible both in the ground and on television coverage, although this has not been a new development at the Emirates.

The official attendance that the club puts out during the second half of matches is actually the number of tickets sold, with all season ticket holders counted in that number even if they fail to appear for the match.

Arsenal soon clarified after the match that the ‘real’ attendance was “just under 30,000”, meaning that it was the club’s lowest-attended men’s senior match since leaving Highbury for the Emirates in 2006.

However, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was not put off by the low turnout for the match – which was essentially a dead rubber with the Gunners already guaranteed top spot and progression to the knockout rounds of the Europa League.

“I think you forget about that once you are on the pitch,” Wenger said.

“It's true that you prefer the ground to be full, but tonight there was not a lot at stake on the competitive side. No matter how many sit in the stands, you have to give them what they expect - and that's what we did.

“You respect the decision of your fans. They knew we were top of the group anyway and you could basically expect that.

“You have looked around last night in the Champions League in game number six, I have seen many grounds not full, or half empty. That is a bit the problem of the group stage.”