Arsenal has announced that they have already sold over 50,000 tickets for an upcoming Barclay’s Super League matchup with the Manchester United women. It is now the fastest-selling English women’s top-flight game in the club’s history. The Red Devils are set to travel to north London to face their rivals on Saturday, February 17th.

The Arsenal women’s team has a recent history of setting records regarding attendance for Super League games. The Gunners had a record 47,367 supporters inside Emirates Stadium during a 2022 fixture against Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal eventually dominated the match by thumping their rivals 4-0 on the day.

Nevertheless, the club then beat their attendance record twice this season. The first instance occurred in the club’s opening game of the season against Liverpool. They then, once again, topped the figure last month during a matchup with Chelsea. The Gunners welcomed the reigning English champions on December 10th in front of 59,042 fans. Much like the Spurs game, Arsenal emphatically beat the Blues 4-1 on the day.

Gunners lead women’s attendance charts thanks to fresh ideas

The north London club is undoubtedly leading the charge of expanding the women’s game in England. Other Super League clubs have made the move to feature women’s matches at stadiums typically reserved for men’s teams. This includes Chelsea, Spurs, and both Manchester clubs.

Nevertheless, these teams do not regularly record impressive attendance figures in these massive stadiums. For instance, Chelsea managed to attract just 14,776 fans in their opening game of the current campaign against Spurs. This is even though the Blues have dominated women’s soccer in England in recent years. In fact, under new USWNT manager Emma Hayes, Chelsea has won the last four league titles.

Arsenal’s recent boom in attendance figures comes as the club has not won a WSL title since 2019. The Gunners, however, have made fairly drastic and unique changes to how they promote women’s matches in recent years. New Arsenal chief commercial officer, Juliet Slot, has helped implement certain tactics such as early-bird pricing, group discounts, and even Black Friday sales to help boost ticket sales. The move has paid off. Just 8,705 people watched the Arsenal women’s team take on Chelsea back in 2021.

Arsenal women to feature former Red Devil in United clash

Arsenal’s upcoming game with Manchester United is fairly significant for multiple reasons. Both clubs currently sit third and fourth respectively in the table. Unlike the Premier League, only the top three teams in the women’s division earn a place in next season’s Champions League.

Along with the magnitude of the matchup, the game will also feature star striker Alessia Russo. Arsenal signed the former UNC-Chapel Hill forward as a free agent earlier this summer. She previously played three seasons with the Red Devils before opting to join the Gunners ahead of the current campaign.

Russo was United’s best player in the women’s team in each of her last two seasons with the team. The England international also collected a spot in the 2023 FIFA FIFPRO Women’s World 11 at a recent ceremony.

The striker previously faced her former club when the two teams met back in October. Russo did not manage to score in the game, but Arsenal grabbed a late equalizer to share the points on the day. She currently has seven goals in 15 total appearances with the Gunners so far this season.

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