Arsenal set a new record for their lowest ever Emirates Stadium attendance during their Carabao Cup clash with Doncaster Rovers on Wednesday night .
Only 44,064 "tickets were issued" for the third round meeting with the League One club, although many in attendance felt that the actual figure inside the ground was lower than that, with around 5,500 Doncaster fans among that number.
It "beat" the previous lowest attendance at the Emirates for a competitive Arsenal first team game - the 46,539 fans who came along for the League Cup clash with Shrewsbury Town, exactly six years ago to the day of the Doncaster game.
Ticket prices had been reduced for the Doncaster meeting, with adults admitted for just £10 and children £5, and although Arsenal often claim that attendances are near the 60,000 capacity figure, there was no hiding the amount of fans in the ground.
The Daily Mirror's chief football writer John Cross, who was at the game, said: "Despite tickets being reduced, it was far from being a sell-out. It’s always strange at the Emirates how you can see big gaps but it’s always a sell-out.
"This was different for once as maybe the number of games, the cost and some teams not taking the Carabao Cup seriously enough contributed to a lower than usual gate."
Meanwhile, there was a near capacity crowd in for Chelsea's Carabao Cup meeting with Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge, which the Blues won 5-1.
With Stamford Bridge holding just 41,631 fans, an attendance of 40,621 was recorded.