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Arsenal announced they would become the first Premier League club to welcome fans in for a competitive fixture since March following the coronavirus pandemic, on this day in 2020.<\/p>\n
The north London club confirmed 2,000 spectators were to be allowed in for their Europa League match against Rapid Vienna the following week.<\/p>\n
The Gunners learned Emirates Stadium was to be in tier two of the Government\u2019s new regionalised approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic, and were able to welcome fans in for the clash with the Austrian side.<\/p>\n
A club statement read: \u201cIt\u2019s been almost nine long months since we had fans in attendance at Emirates Stadium and our matches have simply not been the same without you.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile we appreciate that reduced capacity matches will be far from being \u2018back to normal\u2019, we can\u2019t wait to welcome our fans back home for what will be a historic moment for the club.\u201d<\/p>\n
This was the first time fans have been able to watch a Premier League side in action since the first coronavirus lockdown saw the 2019-20 season pause in March.<\/p>\n
In the match itself, Arsenal eased to a 4-1 victory.<\/p>\n
The Gunners had already booked their place in the knockout stages, but a comfortable win meant they finished at the top of Group B.<\/p>\n
Alexandre Lacazette opened the scoring with an impressive long-range strike before Pablo Mari, returning to the team for the first time since suffering an ankle injury in June, headed in a second, with academy graduates Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith Rowe adding the gloss either side of Kohya Kitagawa\u2019s consolation.<\/p>\n