A Rough Guide For Arsenal Fans Sitting In The Home Areas At St Mary's On Saturday
Wednesday, 1st Apr 2026 09:47
Getting tickets for away games in the Premier League for Away fans these days is a difficult task and for supporters of teams such as Arsenal, almost impossible, however FA Cup ties offer more opportunity than in League games, so we can expect a few Gooners in the home areas on Saturday. Here is all the info needed for a safe evening.
The usual away allocation in the Premier League is 3,000, meaning that for most Arsenal fans attending an away game is something they can only dream of, when you consider that the first tranche will be given to sponsors, the second will be taken up by those who attend every game and have racked up a massive total of credits/points.
That will leave very few if any tickets for around 98% of their match going fanbase who will never get to see their team away from the Emirates, a sad reflection on the sanitised Premier League experience.
For their last away outing, a trip to Brighton, the minimum requirement for a ticket was 15 away Premier League games (Every one) Every Cup game in all cups, 4 youth team games, 6 woman's team games, a minimum club shop spend of £300 since the start of the season and video proof of the chip on your shoulder.
With the majority of those in Premier League stadiums now made up of season ticket holders and then members of the club with a long purchase history, for a big club like Arsenal very few tickets in home sections go on sale to fans who clearly have no purchase history
But for FA Cup games offer the chance of getting a ticket in a home section are quite good, home season ticket holders give it a miss, meaning more tickets go on sale to the open market and if you are an Arsenal fan and you live near the club in question you might be able to sneak one, if not off your own bat, but through a friend who is on the database.
This could well be the case on Saturday and the suspicion is, judging by how quickly the last 3,000 home tickets were sold when they went to a non member data base sale, suggests that we are going to have a few Gooners in the home stands and most of them will be fairly local.
We all want a game that passes off without trouble in the stands, so we at The Ugly Inside want to make sure that it is not ugly inside St Mary's for this game, so here is our rough guide to enable Arsenal fans to watch the game safely on Saturday evening, without being attacked, thrown out or other nasty things.
Do Your Homework
If you are to get in and stay in, you need to gen up on Southampton FC, at sometime you will be engaged in conversation, you need to know something about the opposition, mentioning Matt Le Tissier will get you nowhere, 10 year olds in Gateshead have heard of Matt Le Tissier, it's the easy option and will point you out as an imposter.
Memorise the careers of 10 Southampton players relevant to your age, it is no use being clearly 30 something and recalling watching Charlie George playing for Saints, his last game was 45 years ago, it would be clear you weren't there.
Find a top 10 encompassing your age, from the year you were 15 would be a good start, obviously there are plenty of options, I would suggest that you don't use Jack Stephens, Gavin Bazunu, Sekou Mara & Moussa Djenepo from the last 5 years.
In fact stick clear of goalkeepers, the Southampton fanbase is never fond of a goalkeeper, the last one that most thought was any good was Antti Niemi and before that Peter Shilton, these are perhaps the only two you can mention without someone spitting on the ground and then perhaps noticing your Arsenal socks.
Find out about local landmarks, The Floating Bridge floated, but it's successor The Itchen Bridge doesn't make you scratch, The Bargate isn't a castle, the High Street is at sea level so not very high and Above Bar is not in the sky, but in front of the Bargate.
Central Station isn't very central, The Common is quite exclusive, Portswood is not near the docks nor does it have many trees and if you go to Bassett you will definitely be hounded out.
Getting Into The Ground
This perhaps the easy bit if you are an away fan in enemy territory, the turnstiles are automated so it's just a case of not showing any colours and walking in.
Those that show up as a family with the kids all dressed in full Arsenal kit, carrying signs saying "Saka can I have your shirt" have absolutely zero chance of getting in, the kids will be in tears and dozens of home fans will have no sympathy for your plight and will be laughing their socks off.
Finding your seat
Once you are in the ground, try to look as if you know where you are going, remember everyone around you is a spy, trained in spotting a fish out of water, their mission to unearth an away fan and have them thrown out.
They are not your friends, each and everyone of them will be smiling at you, but in their heads they are looking for the tell tale sign that will mark you out as an away fan and then they will pounce.
When in the stands approaching your seat or in it, make small talk with those with you about local Southampton landmarks, saying " The Bargate is looking pretty in the Spring sun" is probably not a good idea, no one says that, try something like, "I was in the Waterloo Arms last week and I thought £4.80 was reasonable for a pint of lager these days"
That will mark you down as a local, but if someone says "Yes I was in the Bedford yesterday and that was cheap too" watch out they are suspicious and are fishing, The Bedford closed a year ago.
Best to stick with what you know or have seen on the way to the ground.
"During The Game"
There is an etiquette for away fans in home areas, the first rule is you respect your environment, you sit down, don't reveal colours and say nothing in way of support for your team.
Those around you may suspect that you are not one of them, but if you stay quiet they will probably leave it be, many have been in the same position and obeyed the rules and watched their team without problem, no one likes a loudmouth.
If your team does score, do not stand up and cheer, do not turn round and taunt those around you about how great your team is and how rubbish Saints are, firstly Manchester United fans have copyrighted this behaviour and may sue you and secondly at best your will be thrown out by the stewards, at worst they will not get there before someone has punched you and even worst torn up your "Saka" sign.
Do not be complacent, you can get through 90 minutes +7 of the game without incident and then Arsenal score a last minute winner and you jump out of your seat and blow it all.
However that is recoverable if you act quickly, you will have shouted "Yes get in" you need to quickly follow it with "Yes get in, you are an Arsenal fan" directed at someone next to you and swiftly punch them, I would advise not too hard in case they take offence.
You have then turned the tables and they will be seen as the away fan and not you, in the melee as they are dragged out, people will have forgotten your first indiscretion and now see you as one of them, "Nice punch" someone will say, "Fancy a beer in the Bedford after"
Remember these are experienced away fan hunters, they may have briefly let their guard down, but they are testing you, Say "Yes I do actually, I miss it since it closed, let's go to the Cricketers instead"
Leaving the ground
You may have got through the game unscathed, but St Mary's is in quite an enclosed area, this being a cup game settled on the day, you will be either the happiest person in a throng of very unhappy people or the unhappiest person in a crowd singing "Wer'e going to Wembley Thrice" ( AS I say gen up on Saints, make sure that you know why we could go thrice.
Try to look happy/sad depending on the result, if someone mutters something about the game, keep the conversation generic, just nod and shake your head looking mournful, don't get dragged into something that could mark you out as an Arsenal fan.
In general though stay safe, to be fair Southampton & Arsenal have never really had a gripe, back in 2003 when we were beaten in the up final, more Southampton fans stayed behind to clap their team and indeed Arsenal, than Gooners who were supposed to be celebrating.
There is no reason why you should not survive sitting in the home areas if you follow our simple guide, leave that Arsenal shirt at home and you will be fine.
All Photos Via Reuters
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