LONDON, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- Four people were arrested on suspicion of public order offences before Arsenal's Europa League opener against Budesliga side Cologne at London's Emirates Stadium on Thursday.
The match, which was originally scheduled at 20:05 BST, was delayed by an hour "in the interests of crowd safety".
Thousands of ticketless away supporters turned up outside the ground and there were some scuffles between fans and stewards inside after the gates opened, the BBC reported.
The German side, playing their first European match in 25 years, had only been given a ticket allocation of 2,900 but around 20,000 of their fans brought central London to a standstill earlier on Thursday afternoon.
Report said that a group of Cologne fans entered the Emirates Stadium adjacent to the away section and proceeded to fight with stewards in an attempt to gain entry to the away section. Police wearing riot helmets - some with dogs - then entered the stadium and order was restored.
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "Officers responded to reports of disorder at the Emirates Stadium earlier this evening where fans gathered for the Arsenal vs FC Koln match. A policing plan was in place for the game and additional officers were deployed."
The match was held smoothly without reports of trouble and Arsenal won 3-1.
