Chelsea manager Emma Hayes says that Arsenal’s attendance records at the Emirates Stadium this season are an inspiration for the rest of the Barclays Women’s Super League.
The Gunners face The Blues in N7 on Sunday afternoon. A crowd of around 45,000 is expected in North London, although the attendance could yet beat the all-time record for the Barclays Women’s Super League of 47,367.
It is Arsenal who hold the current attendance record. The Gunners recorded that huge tally for their North London derby against Tottenham Hotspur back in September. Arsenal also attracted a crowd in excess of 40,000 for their fixture against Manchester United in November.
When speaking in the pre-match press conference ahead of this weekend’s London derby, Chelsea boss Hayes said that Arsenal’s attendances are an inspiration for the rest of the Barclays Women’s Super League and that big crowds are now very much becoming the norm.
“I actually think that we probably need to spend less time talking about it being big games, big stadiums or big crowds,” Hayes said. “Actually, it is really normal for us now and maybe it is more about how we turn 45,000 into 62,000, I think that’s where we should be heading for the next step.
“Arsenal have done a tremendous job in packing the numbers into the Emirates, they are a real inspiration for the rest of the league in terms of putting those large numbers into a big stadium.”
Turning the attention towards the action on the pitch, Hayes is remaining very level-headed ahead of the match. The Blues boss said that she just sees it as another game.
She said “As far as I’m concerned, every game has to be interesting and every game has to be treated with the same amount of respect. This one is no different.
“It is nice that the game will be played at a stadium with a packed crowd, I know that the players enjoy that. I think we are just ready for the second half of the season to resume.”
Chelsea’s Barclays Women’s Super League fixture at Arsenal kicks-off at 12pm on Sunday afternoon.