- Gunners go into tie with Inter on Wednesday with seven points from three games
- Their supporters will be greeted by drink-free zones in the city’s top tourist hubs
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Arsenal supporters hoping to enjoy a drink or two during their visit to Milan for the side’s Champions League clash with Inter have been left bitterly disappointed after a widespread ban on booze was introduced in the city.
The Gunners have started the season in mixed form, slumping to fifth in the table despite designs on a first Premier League trophy in two decades, and are now without a win in three matches.
This has translated into their Champions League campaign, with Mikel Arteta‘s outfit impressively sweeping aside Paris Saint-Germain in between tight contests with Atalanta, which finished 0-0, and Shakhtar Donetsk, which they won 1-0.
Next up is a trip to the San Siro to face Inter Milan tomorrow night and Arsenal fans will be anxious to cement themselves in the automatic qualifying places against a team with the exact same record as them so far.
But any supporters looking to calm the nerves with a pre-match alcoholic beverage will be dismayed to discover that the city is going dry ahead of the clash, The Express reports.
Arsenal supporters hoping to enjoy a drink or two during their visit to Milan for the side’s Champions League clash with Inter face a booze ban
The Gunners slumped to defeat against Newcastle on Saturday leaving them winless in three
A drinking ban was also in place for the side’s goalless draw with Atalanta in September
The decision to ban the sale of booze across Milan was announced by Prefect Claudio Sgaraglia on the Italian Government website.
The sanction will cover some of the busiest areas in Italy’s second city, including the tourist hub in the Centro area which will be an alcohol-free zone between 8am and 8pm.
This region includes popular drinking spots such as Piazza San Babila, Piazza Duomo, Piazza Cordusio, Largo Cairoli, Largo Beltrami, Piazza Castello and Foro Buonaparte, the Darsena, the Navigli, Corso Como, the Sempione area and in the San Siro.
Various surrounding areas will be slapped with the ban from midday to midnight on the day of the match.
The prefect has also banned takeaway venues from selling booze to fans in plastic or glass cups.
In a statement, the Italian Ministero dell’ Interno said: ‘The ban […] established to ensure the safety of the event and prevent possible disturbances of public order due to alcohol abuse.’
The move represents an attempt to mitigate against potential crowd trouble, with Arsenal expected to sell out their 4,361 allocation.
It marks another alcohol-free visit to Italy for Gunners fans after travelling supporters were stopped from drinking in vast areas of Bergamo ahead of their goalless draw with Atalanta.
Inter fans celebrating in Piazza Duomo, one of the areas affected by the booze ban
Arsenal fans will not be able to get a drink before or during their match at the San Siro
Celtic fans were confronted with a similar issue when they arrived in Bergamo for a clash with Atalanta
That trip did, however, feature designated drinking areas in the city, controlled by local police, with no such options offered for Wednesday’s tie.
Celtic fans ran into the same problems when they headed to Bergamo last month, as their 1,300-strong following were greeted with restricted boozing options ahead of the match which also ended goalless.
Hoops supporters were only able to purchase drinks below five per cent in strength and were not allowed to drink from glasses or glass bottles, as officials looked to ‘protect the city’s artistic heritage’.
