Lens haven’t hosted a Champions League match at their Bollaert-Delelis stadium since 2002, so preparing for their home games against Arsenal, PSV Eindhoven and Sevilla is quite a big deal.
The Gunners will be the first of the trio to travel to France in Group B, with them facing Lens on Tuesday evening.
Ahead of the match, local authorities and police have put together a plan to make sure there’s no trouble.
La Voix du Nord report the prefecture of Pas-de-Calais have been working on plans for weeks. They expect 1800 Arsenal fans with tickets to travel, and a further 200 or so without tickets.
The latter group are expected to want to watch the match in bars in Lens.
According to La Voix du Nord, ‘Gunners supporters are not the most ferocious’. Therefore, whilst there’s said to be some worry ahead of Tuesday, it’s not a great concern.
From a policing perspective, the match against Arsenal will be handled like games against Lille, Marseille and PSG: ‘Particular attention will be paid to the gathering point for English supporters located in the city centre, as well as to their travel in the city and to the stadium.’
Fortunately, it doesn’t seem like the policing is going to be too heavy handed for Arsenal fans, with it stated officers in Lens centre will try to be ‘discreet’.
La Voix du Nord say that even if officials aren’t yet admitting it, the real worry is ahead of PSV Eindhoven and their supporters visiting.
