Arsenal Install 24-Hour Substitution Turnstile at Emirates After Guimarães Winner, Require All Fans to Enter Through Bench
Following Bruno Guimarães's dramatic late winner off the bench against Leeds, Arsenal have converted the Emirates Stadium dugout into a permanent rotating entry gate, forcing every spectator to pass through the substitutes' bench before taking their seat.
Arsenal have demolished the players' tunnel at the Emirates Stadium and replaced it with a working substitutes' bench, through which every spectator must now pass before reaching their seat, in what the club calls «the Guimarães Protocol».
The measure follows Bruno Guimarães's late winner against Leeds, his second goal for the club, both scored as a substitute from outside the box. Club officials confirmed that the bench will rotate continuously during matches, and that any fan who fails to enter through it will be escorted to the car park and made to wait until the 67th minute.
«We realised the bench is our most dangerous weapon,» said a club spokesperson. «So we made it the only entrance. It is now a turnstile. It has a turnstile.»
Season-ticket holders have been issued with numbered bibs and instructed to warm up for ninety minutes before taking their seats. The club has also hired three additional stewards whose sole job is to shout «warm up!» at anyone who stops moving.
Leeds, whose unbeaten run ended, have responded by demanding that their own bench be recognised as a heritage site. «We sat on it for three games,» said a Leeds official. «That is history.»
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