Arsenal vs Cologne: Thousands of German fans bring chaos to Emirates Stadium for Europa League clash

Fans were seen storming barriers and clashing with stewards in and around the stadium after tonight's game was delayed by an hour due to severe congestion surrounding the Emirates

Riot police arrive outside the Emirates Stadium as kick off is delayed due to crowd safety issues (Getty Images)

Unprecedented violence inside and outside the Emirates Stadium between Arsenal and FC Koln fans nearly saw their Europa League game cancelled tonight.

Up to 3,000 away tickets were sold but an estimated 20,000 German fans descended upon the Emirates ahead of kick-off. This led to congestion and clashes with police, stewards and Arsenal fans before the game.

The match was postponed for an hour, starting instead at 9.05pm, and only a late decision determined that it would go ahead at all. Arsenal, the Metropolitan Police and Uefa decided that the “best and safest” option was to play the game, given the difficulty of dispersing tens of thousands of German fans, and the likely trouble that would cause.

Thousands of Koln fans had initially bought tickets for the game in the sections designated for Arsenal fans. Many of them were seen disguising themselves as Arsenal fans for the occasion.

Stewards trying to identify German from English fans led to mass blockages at the gates, which in turn caused crowds to swell outside, predominantly on the Drayton Park side of the stadium.

Some of these fans tried to push through barriers and gates to get in, sparking clashes outside. The Metropolitan Police were forced to deploy more police officers beyond their initial 110 given the scale of the violence.

The police said in a statement: “Officers are dealing with disorder at the Emirates Stadium where fans have gathered for the Arsenal vs FC Koln match.

“A policing plan is in place for the game. Additional officers have been deployed.”

The Met later confirmed that four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences.

The decision to push the kick-off back from 8.05pm to 9.05pm was announced at 7.15pm, to buy the organisers time in their attempt to clear the crowds outside and make the game safe for the fans.

When the Koln fans eventually started to pour into the ground, many started to move towards the designated away end in the south-east corner of the ground. As they tried to clamber over the barriers between the away and home sections in the Clock End, there were further clashes with security staff.

The result was an unofficial away end which took up the whole south end of the Emirates, not just in the whole southern curve of the lower tier but in the corporate middle tier and in the top tier too. There was very little genuine segregation between Arsenal and Koln fans, with groupings of German supporters scattered all around the ground.

The atmosphere when the game started was more akin to a home game for Koln, given the whistling and jeering whenever Arsenal had the ball.

Arsenal staff had been discussing before this game how to prevent this many Koln fans from buying tickets for the game but ultimately any serious attempts to restrict the sale of tickets failed to do so.

The Premier League side will be reviewing their procedures to prevent a repeat, especially with the arrival of Red Star Belgrade later in the group stage.