Arsenal fans stuck outside Emirates as Nottingham Forest clash delayed due to turnstile issues
Arsenal’s opening Premier League fixture of the season has been delayed by half an hour due to turnstile issues.
The Gunners host Nottingham Forest, live on talkSPORT, at the Emirates Stadium as they eye another title push.
Masses of fans can be seen outside the groundTNT Sports
Kick-off in north London was due to be at 12:30pm UK time, but this has now been pushed back to 13:00pm.
Arsenal tweeted: “This afternoon’s game with Nottingham Forest will now kick off at 1pm (UK), due to a delay at the turnstiles.”
Fans were pictured in huge queues outside the ground at 12.30pm and tens of thousands of seats were left unfilled.
It is understood the club’s e-ticketing system has collapsed, with a fan telling TNT Sports that paper tickets were fine.
talkSPORT reporter Jake Lambourne, who is at the game, said: “It’s crazy scenes.
“I’m stuck in the queue for turnstile D, and I’m currently outside turnstile A. Delaying the game until 1pm will not be enough time.
“The club spent all summer and the end of last season integrating this process and the new contactless ticketing system, and it’s just stopped working. 40,000 people queuing up around the stadium.”
Forest players made their way back out to the turf for another pre-match warmup as they waited for fans to make their way in.
Arsenal’s stars eventually followed suit, with some seats in the ground beginning to fill up slowly.
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