Mass frustration for a good number of applicants trying to register their interest in applying for Champions League Final. Those that don’t have a clue where to find their password, those that are just not geared up to apply online, and ‘away season ticket’ scheme members who of all people, most deserve Paris tickets.

Heard last night that to register successfully, many existing and past members of the ‘away season ticket’ scheme have to type an asterisk immediately after their surname for the online application process to accept the member. Absolutely crazy and there is no mention of this phenomenon at any point during the application process. In other words, a complete f**k up by Arsenal for the most important match in the club’s history.

I guess that eventually, having given up on the phone helpline, and torn out any hair on their head, most will have eventually made contact with the Arsenal box office to discover this nugget of information and completed successful applications to register their interest. Having said that, in experiencing an online problem I eventually solved myself, I spent 20 minutes waiting for a reply to a call that was in the queue to speak to someone at the box office. None came, but it gave me the time to realise what the problem was and rectify it (one of my party had just given me their wrong membership number if you can believe that!). If I’d have waited another 10 minutes it would have been 5pm and doubtless everyone would have gone home.

I can foresee a long queue of people waiting for the box office to open on Saturday morning – the last chance to guarantee a conversation with a human being on the matter of why it has been so difficult for many to complete their online applications for Paris. Stress isn’t the word.

So all I can say is this. Firstly the very best of luck. Secondly, try the asterisk after the surname if at any time you have been an ‘away season ticket’ scheme member and your application has hit a brick wall thus far. And thirdly, for those who are unable to get tickets from Arsenal for any number of reasons, there will be tickets available from neutral and corporate sources for Paris. But they won’t be cheap. People are already paying £300 plus just to get to France and have somewhere to sleep for two nights. Hysteria isn’t the word. Everyone has to be there. It’s the biggest game in Arsenal’s history and my guess is that 50,000 of the Stade de France crowd will be Gooners, 20,000 will be Barca and the other 10,000 business suits. Add another 50,000 Arsenal fans just in the city without a prayer of a ticket and it’s as well that Wenger’s team will be France’s favourites. Because the invasion that awaits wouldn’t be pretty if we were as welcome as in 1995. Anyone enjoy that tear gas after losing to Zaragoza?