Richard Smith and AISA ask the club five vitally important questions following the failure of the new e-ticketing system before Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest on Saturday. 

Read on for the questions the powers-that-be at the club need to answer - and quickly 

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Saturday was an embarrassing debacle, and the club doesn’t need reminding, writes Richard Smith

We all know about the failure of the new digital entry system, and the club has apologised, writing to members, ‘The matter will be investigated to ensure we do everything we can to ensure this doesn’t happen again.’

We are also grateful to the stewards and security that their response ensured people made it safely into the stadium.

But some issues arise from yesterday, not all of them connected directly to the turnstile malfunction, and we are seeking answers to them from the club.

Five questions the club must answer after e-ticketing failure at Arsenal vs Forest 

1 - The key one, related to yesterday, is what can be done to ensure the outage doesn’t happen again.

We all know how often digital systems can glitch. Can anything be done to guarantee a 100% successful operation - and what do other venues do?

We were fortunate that there wasn’t a serious medical incident, but there were cries from people terrified of being crushed and suffering claustrophobia - which brings up to quesiton two

2 - If there is a next time (and with technology, it’s always a risk) is there a plan?

Most strategic changes as significant as the introduction of digital ticketing comes with a risk analysis and planning for ‘worst case scenarios.’

Did these exist yesterday and was the action taken by the stewards and security planned or just quick thinking?

And what was learned from yesterday’s experience?

3 - For supporters who were helped into the stadium while the turnstiles were down, what will happen to their attendance credit?

Will they be penalised for having ‘missed’ a match, risking the penalty of missing the 17-match target?

Similarly, we have had reports of people’s ‘season tickets’ not working (or registering as ‘ticket not bought’) even while the system was working, and needing to be helped through by stewards using their master entry cards. 

Again, this will show up as a ‘missed match’. Which brings us to question four

4 - Are these teething trouble glitches or is there something more fundamental?

4 a - And what steps are being taken to fix them?

5 - Is the club aware that the PA was inaudible once under the cover of the stadium overhang.

Although there was a PA announcement to the general concourse about the delay many did not hear it. 

This left people who were crushed relatively close to the turnstiles completely in the dark as to what was going on.

And one more: 

AISA will also be asking the club what’s happened to the new-fangled improved wifi (there seems to be nothing at all at present) and the rain torrent that is still gushing off the roof onto the lower east seating, when repairs were supposed to have been carried out.

It’s a long list of questions, but we trust the club will provide us all with some answers. Before the next match.

AISA represents its members and presents their views to the club.  They concentrate on ‘off the field’ issues that supporters are unhappy about. They are an independent voice for fans, supportive of the club, but ready to act as a critical friend when necessary. AISA is a regular member of the Arsenal Fans’ Forum that meets three times a season with members of the club’s board.

For more information on AISA click here