Arsenal fans invade Paris for Euro showdown

Thousands of Arsenal fans poured into Paris today to see their team take on Spanish giants Barcelona in the European Champions League final.

Many came without tickets, hoping to find one on the black market before the game.

But most were likely to be disappointed with touts reportedly charging £2,000 for a seat.

Robert Wells, 36, from Essex, said: “None of us have got tickets. We’ve come here in the hope of finding one and just for the atmosphere.

“The vast majority of fans are without tickets, Spanish and English. I don’t know who’s got the tickets.”

Peter Saunders, 51, drove to Paris from Derbyshire yesterday. After a night of celebration he slept in his car.

He said: “There was lots of singing and noise but no trouble. The police were great and didn’t interfere.

“The locals were joining in. They can hardly tell you to keep the noise down.”

Sammy Barton, 55, also from Essex, has a ticket.

He said they were selling for £2,000 at Heathrow but he would not part with his.

He said: “I’ve waited 40 years to get here and I’m not going to give anything up.”

Costas Antonio, 40, flew in from Cyprus. He said: “I’m married with three kids and this is the most important day of my life.

“This means everything, you can’t beat this, apart from when we pick up the cup tonight.

“I’ve paid a lot of money to get here and paid a lot for the ticket to get in. It doesn’t matter. This is what living is all about.”

Gary Hanger, 32, from Bournemouth, said: “We don’t have any tickets but we just needed to be here. We’ll get in even if it’s the second half.

“You are going to pay the money but it’s once in a lifetime and we want to be involved in it.”

Millions more football fans will watch the game on TV to see if Arsenal can repeat Liverpool’s feat of last year and keep the Champions League trophy in England.

Yesterday Norwegian assistant referee Ole Hermann Borgan was stripped of his duties for the match after being pictured in a Barcelona shirt.

Borgan was photographed by a newspaper in his home country wearing the colours of the finalists.

While Borgan insisted he would have been impartial, competition organiser Uefa decided against using him and replaced him with fellow Norwegian Arild Sundet, who was flying to Paris today to assist referee Terje Hauge, another Norwegian.

Norway’s refereeing supremo Rune Pedersen told newspaper Drammens Tidende, which printed the picture: “It was a bit strange of Borgan to pose with one of the final team’s shirts ahead of the final.

“It is an unwritten rule that referees should not do anything that can doubt their impartial stance.”

In Arsenal’s north London heartland, pubs will be packed with supporters eager to see the showdown between their club’s star striker Thierry Henry and Barcelona’s Ronaldinho.

The Gunners pub in Blackstock Road, just a few hundred yards from Arsenal’s now-closed Highbury stadium, sold out of tickets to watch the game in just four days.

Manager Rob Sturges said he had been getting up to 100 calls a day from fans wanting tickets to see the match in his pub and expected to turn hundreds away this evening.

“Most of the pubs around here are sold out. It’s obviously a massive game, but I am surprised at the amount of calls I’m still getting,” he added.

“The only thing that can compare to this final is the World Cup Final. And it’s the battle of the giants, Henry and Ronaldinho.

“Every football fan in the world should be looking forward to this match more than any other Champions League Final we’ve had before.”

It is the biggest game of Henry’s Arsenal career as he returns to his home city to face a team who want to sign him in the summer.

The 28-year-old striker, who is the club’s all-time top scorer, this week admitted that Barcelona were formidable opponents.

He said: “You can’t point to a weakness in a team like Barcelona. If you try to look for a weakness, it’s pretty difficult to find one, but we have to work on that to see what we can do and try to have a go at them.

“Football is pretty strange – you never know what can happen. They have a strong defence, a strong midfield, a strong attack and a strong bench, but we are going to go there with the desire of winning the cup, like I am sure they are.”

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger yesterday said he believed his team could win.

He said: “Barcelona are a very good team but playing at our best we can beat them. Even if it is the best team we will play in the Champions League this season, I still believe we can do it.”

The game kicks off in the Stade de France at 7.45pm.