Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is looking forward to having the fans back inside the Emirates when his side take on Brighton on Sunday.
The Coronavirus pandemic initially put a stop to the Premier League fixture schedule before returning without fans in stadiums.
This week we saw fans return to stadiums albeit in a limited capacity, and Sunday will be the first time that the Emirates will play host to fans also.
Arteta is looking forward to having the supporters back inside the Emirates, and is hopeful that the fans will be able to get behind the team.
The Spaniard said in his pre-match conference(via Arsenal.com) “The [fans] haven’t been at the stadium for a long time, we haven’t managed to be together so hopefully it will be a positive atmosphere to support the team and the team trying to give them some joy and win the game.
“Anything that is in our hands to make them happy and to help us to be in a better place today, it’s all positive.
“[The Europa Conference League] is a new competition so I don’t really know what will happen. First of all, let’s try to finish as high as possible and then after we will determine, once we are involved, what the best way is to do it.
“We have experienced in the last few years how tough being in the Europa League is with the amount of games you play and the short turnaround that you have all the time in the Premier League.
“I think there is a lot of history there with teams that have been involved in the Europa League, and the negative consequences that has in the Premier League positions. But we’ve tried to give it the best possible go, we came a little bit short, but this club has to be in Europe.”
It could be a tense encounter, but the fans should be able to help push the team on for victory tomorrow, but whether the result will be enough to earn European football is another story…
Does the manager sound worried about the reception his players will face tomorrow?
Patrick