An Arsenal fan was spotted brazenly wearing a gold Dennis Bergkamp shirt at West Ham’s Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth at the London Stadium.
West Ham played a Carabao Cup second round tie for the first time since 2021 last night while Arsenal had midweek off.
The Hammers are not used to playing at this stage of the competition in recent seasons thanks to qualifying for European football three years in a row.
West Ham failed to make it four last term, though, hence the second round tie at home to Bournemouth while the likes of Arsenal – who will play in the newly-expanded Champions League – enjoy a bye to the third round.
Julen Lopetegui’s side rode their luck to win the game 1-0 late on thanks to a rather fortunate Jarrod Bowen goal.
Arsenal fans were heard copying the club’s ‘West Ham are massive’ chant last weekend.
West Ham set 45-year League Cup attendance high
But there was more proof that West Ham certainly are massive by way of the attendance for the cup clash.
West Ham’s crowd of 47,381 at the London Stadium was the highest attendance for any second round English Football League Cup game since 1981.
But the one at the end of that number was a Gunners fan.
Ever since moving to their new 62,500 capacity Stratford home in 2016, West Ham have had issues with supporters of other clubs getting tickets among the home fans.
Not every week by any stretch of the imagination. But often enough to make it one of the major bones of contention on a long list of grievances Hammers fans have with the club’s owners.
Arsenal have had their own issues with opposition fans getting tickets in the home end with the Gunners’ clashes against Bayern Munich and Red Star Belgrade prime examples in recent years.
It’s one thing when opposition fans get tickets in the home end.
Arsenal fan brazenly wears Bergkamp shirt at West Ham
But how about a fan of a London rival going to a game that doesn’t even involve his club. And rocking up with his team’s kit on too?
Well that’s what happened at the London Stadium last night.
An Arsenal fan was spotted brazenly wearing a Dennis Bergkamp shirt at the West Ham cup game.
A Hammers supporter posted a picture on social media showing the Gunners fan wearing the club’s Gold shirt from the 2001/2 season.
From a distance one might mistake the top for West Ham’s very similar gold and dark blue 1996 third shirt.
But the distinctive Arsenal top was confirmed by the fact the fan had ‘Bergkamp 10’ printed on the back.
The West Ham fan posted the picture on X and tagged in West Ham, saying: “Not even bothered about hiding his Gooner shirt at the London Stadium.”
Club must sort out “football tourists” issue
The Arsenal fan is seen nonchalantly milling around West Ham fans in the upper tier of the Bobby Moore Stand.
The sight of an Arsenal fan rocking up to a West Ham game wearing his Gunners kit has angered supporters.
It quite simply would never have happened at Upton Park. Tribalism is one of the things which makes football great in the UK.
Rightly or wrongly, supporters of rival clubs dared not walk along Green Street or the the Barking Road showing their colours, let alone in the home end. But it’s commonplace in and around the new ground.
West Ham attracted such a large attendance for the midweek second round cup clash after seeing sense and setting a reasonable price point for the game of £10.
Given it wasn’t a sell-out most Hammers fans were not bothered by the fact a rival fan was in attendance.
And having “football tourists” at matches is the price on the ticket when you move to a massive stadium.
But what did bother West Ham supporters is the fact the fan not only wore the Arsenal shirt so flagrantly – but was allowed in by the club and the London Stadium stewards.
Fans are demanding the club put extra measures in place to stop it happening in the future.
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