From Mark Woodward: Fans leave early because not all of us have the luxury of a relaxed saunter home or even a pint en route. As one the ''guilty'' ones I left with 1.58 minutes remaining on the clock vs Porto (plus time added on!) because the difference between getting out with the ''main mass'' or leaving a couple of minutes early can mean up to 30 minutes to an hour extra waiting in the queues for the tube, whereas if I can get into the main queue in Drayton Park Road before this I can be onto the platform within ten minutes.

With a drive back to Felixstowe in Suffolk to follow, and work at 08:00 the following morning, the difference is sufficient. I was home by 23:30 instead of the 01:00 after the Zagreb game, and With the Middlesbrough game’s transport disaster fresh in the mind I can’t fault anyone else for wanting to make the same decision although going ten minutes early does seem ridiculous and is probably is a consequence of the aforementioned game, as the queues do seem to be getting worse and at this rate certain fans will be leaving at half time to steal a march on their fellows!

Bottom line is that different people have different journeys to make, and with little or no upgrade in infrastructure to the surrounding transport, coupled with the 20,000 increase in attendance (since the all-seaters) people are still adjusting to the new reality, and the number leaving early has increased to compensate.

Should Arsenal and TfL ever get together to ensure smoother and easier transit to/from the stadium and its immediate environs I am sure more people would then prefer to stay to the end, after all we all pay enough for these season tickets. I for one hate the thought of missing a goal even if we are two or three nil up, but once I know the game is basically safe, then compared to up to an extra hour standing in yet another queue, I will begrudgingly sacrifice a minute or two. Why can’t the likes of Drayton Park station be upgraded for evening games and opened? Instead of berating fans for a quite understandable concern for their journey home, energy would be better expended in pushing for a proper and coherent upgrade to local stations and their approaches!

From Bob MacLean: I'm a Red Member and love the fact I can get to see Arsenal more often in the bigger stadium. I lived in London in the 1960's but gradually moved further away and now live in Sussex. When the tubes were off at the 'Boro game I stayed till the end and had a couple of pints before going home. On evening matches, however, I am usually guilty of leaving a few minutes early, because it might be midnight before I get home. Most of us have jobs to go to in the morning. I'm not sure how many supporters think along the same lines as me, but it could be part of the "problem". We've paid our money and we do have the choice. I can't speak for the prawn sandwich brigade, who are probably just enjoying what somebody else has paid for.

From Jan Cross: I agree with Jeff about the leaving early problem. It does not look good when so many people do leave early but I have been going to see Arsenal for ten years now and it is only recently I have started to leave early myself. I only do this on a weeknight as the congestion when you leave after the match means that I cannot get my train back to Feltham. On Saturday or Sunday games we all stay and have a drink at the stadium and let the congestion die down but weeknights it is not possible and I am sure that is the reason for so many people leaving early. It breaks my heart to do this as I used to be the one moaning about people leaving early. It is fantastic to have the new stadium and I have now got my season ticket after being on the waiting list for nine years but the consequences are that with 60,000 fans all leaving at once you cannot get to the station as quickly as you used to.

From Rotten Ralph (a stayer): This is something that will sort itself out over time. The early games all ended in a state of GRIDLOCK on the lower aisles resulting in an uncomfortable stand for up to 15 minutes. People have obviously decided to avoid this by making their escape early. I sit in the front row of the orange quadrant and the solution is simply to stay put for about five to ten minutes after the game. If we can get this message out and get to a stage where approaching 50% do just that, we’ll have plenty left to cheer off the team and the outflow will improve dramatically.

From Tony Shackell (who also doesn’t leave early!): I have just read your piece titled 'The Ashburton Grove Stadium Mystery' and think I understand why a large number of people leave the stadium early. I would just like to say before I write this email that I am not one of the Arsenal season ticket holders who leave early. However, I live some 30 miles north of London along with a substantial number of fans. After an evening match it takes me two and a half hours to get home compared to an hour before we moved to Ashburton Grove.

The reason for this is as follows: Supporters who leave the ground to the north firstly get held up by Police at the bridge from the stadium concourse to Drayton Park Road. Once we get to Drayton Park Road the road splits; two thirds to the left for people queuing for Arsenal Tube and one third for those heading towards St. Thomas Road, this causes a severe bottle neck getting past Arsenal station. Then as we move further along we get stopped by a row of police (who are supposedly controlling the traffic). After the Porto game I was held at the top of St. Thomas road for 15 minutes before some supporters were allowed through, however the road was blocked again before I got through and so I waited another 15 minutes. By the time I have then queued to get into Finsbury Park station (due to development work on the station) I had missed my train. I waited for the next train and arrived home two and a half hours after the final whistle.

This situation isn't too much of a problem on a Saturday when time isn't so crucial. But on an evening game when the majority of people have work the next day it is far from satisfactory. I find it difficult to believe in this day and age that major projects such as the new stadium can get something as important as this wrong.