Under fire Arsenal man is thrilled by the return of fans

Football has been played without the fans for almost a year after the coronavirus pandemic forced leagues across the world to be suspended from March.

When some of the leagues returned in July, fans were forced to remain at home.

The pandemic is still killing people and disrupting the flow of things around the world.

But the announcement of vaccines from some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical firms and the easing of England’s lockdown has seen the UK Government agree for the return of a limited number of fans across the country.

Arsenal was the first English team that welcomed fans to their stadium after having 2,000 fans in for their Europa League game against Rapid Vienna last Thursday evening.

Under-fire Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin was happy to see the fans back even though they were in a limited number.

He claimed that the fans give the team an advantage and there is a big difference between playing in front of and celebrating a goal with 60,000 fans than when it is done behind closed doors.

“The fans give an advantage to the home team,” Bellerin told beIN SPORTS as quoted by Goal.com.

“When you do get the win away it’s a completely different feeling, for different reasons.

“There’s no better feeling than being able to share the win at home with your fans.

“I’ve missed them so much. It’s so difficult for me when the game’s finished and I walk around the pitch. To thank the fans … playing with an empty stadium, there’s nothing more sad than that for a football player.

“The synergy you get with them when you win, or you score a goal; 60,000 people unite on the same wavelength and we’re really missing that as players.”