Nine arrested – Nine people were arrested in north London during Arsenal’s Premier League title parade after the club’s Champions League final defeat to PSG, with the Met Police citing offences including disorderly conduct, drugs offences, sexual assault, and assaults on emer
For the best part of the afternoon. north London looked like it was built for celebration: tens of thousands of Arsenal supporters packed the route. Arsenal buses moved slowly through the streets. and Mikel Arteta and Martin Odegaard posed with the Premier League trophy as the convoy left Emirates Stadium at around the 2pm planned start time.
But the mood turned fast. Nine people were arrested at Arsenal’s Premier League title parade after chaos erupted in the capital following the club’s crushing Champions League defeat to PSG. with the Met Police saying offences included drunk and disorderly behaviour. drugs offences. sexual assault. and assaulting emergency workers.
Footage from the scene showed at least a dozen hooligans climbing onto the roof of a police van. Some appeared to be drinking as they banged their fists on the side of the vehicle and chanted while footballs were thrown about. Other images showed supporters raising middle fingers at police officers as fights broke out.
Met officers were seen with batons drawn and raised as the disruption flared near Emirates Stadium. One constable was pictured falling over as the Met tried to stop fans entering the ground at the end of the celebrations this afternoon. Another officer was nearly knocked down after being struck with a bottle. A man was also pictured sitting on top of an ambulance with its blue lights flashing.
The London Fire Brigade said it rescued “approximately 75 people” from incidents at height during the event and urged fans to refrain from climbing onto rooftops as celebrations continued into the evening. The LFB also said it attended a fire at a hotel, believed to have been caused by a stray flare. Assistant Commissioner Pat Goulbourne said the fire “caused only a small amount of damage to the exterior of the building. ” adding that pyrotechnics were also believed to have triggered fire alarms at several other locations in the area.
For many, the day was supposed to be about a trophy. This year marked the first time in over 20 years that Arsenal had won the League title again. ending a wait that stretched back to the 2003/04 season. There was tight security for the parade. with more than 500 officers on the streets. a drone team. and specialist search groups.
Even so, chaos spread through the capital. Up to one million people were thought to have lined the streets of north London. TfL travel was disrupted, with the London Overground’s Mildmay Line experiencing severe delays after the parade. Several stations were understood to have been shut or operating on restricted timetables due to congestion. including Holloway Road. Drayton Park. and Essex Road. On the Victoria line, trains did not stop at Highbury & Islington, while Canonbury only allowed commuters to exit.
Back on the route, celebration and tension existed side by side. Aerial video footage showed four Arsenal buses slowly looping a five-mile circuit in north London as red smoke filled the streets to the sound of jubilant fans and their vuvuzelas. Flags. flares and a sea of red shirts had gathered on tubes and buses all morning as supporters travelled from far and wide. some taking up the best vantage points hours in advance.
Halifax teenager Arron Lapsley, 16, said: “It’s exciting. It’s a good atmosphere. Everyone’s having a really good time – it’s a great day out. It’s a first time we’ve won a proper trophy for a lot of us.” Asked whether the parade was overshadowed by the previous night’s Champions League final loss to PSG. he added: “I thought it would have done but everyone’s come out so it’s amazing. a good atmosphere.”.
His father, Andy Lapsley, 54, said: “It means a lot to be here but it’s difficult to get tickets to games. We watched the Champions League last night, I think we won it, we played really well. Gutting to lose on penalties.”
The juxtaposition of joy and disorder played out against a wider backdrop in France. where the Champions League final defeat had already spilled over into violence. After PSG beat Arsenal and retained the European trophy, violence and destruction broke out across France. In Paris alone, more than 280 people were arrested, bringing the total arrests across the country to 416. Interior minister Laurent Nunez condemned the chaos as “absolutely unacceptable,” and police officers were reported to have been wounded.
Around 5. 000 police and gendarmes were deployed in Paris to police crowds watching the final. and riot police used tear gas and baton charges against supporters gathered outside bars and cafés in sweltering heat on Saturday afternoon. Weapons and fireworks were among items confiscated by officers. An onlooker described the sequence in Paris: “The trouble started as soon as Arsenal went one-nil up. ” adding that chairs and bottles were thrown at police before they moved in to make arrests.
There were also dramatic scenes near the Eiffel Tower with multiple vehicles set alight. while unrest continued into the night with all buses in Paris stopped due to the large number of people gathering on the streets. Some PSG fans were seen climbing on scaffolding close to the Rue de Rivoli. Le Parisien reported that crowds surged after Ousmane Dembélé scored his equalizer. leading to another show of force from the French police.
Elsewhere, additional clashes led to more arrests close to the Champs Élysées after a bus stop was vandalised during a clash between supporters and police. In Montmartre, fans wearing balaclavas and armed with iron bars were also spotted.
In north London. the celebrations kept rolling even after the worst of the clashes near the stadium. with officers attempting to control crowds as the day ran on and the LFB urged fans to stay away from rooftops. For Arsenal’s supporters. the trophy came with a hangover from the final in Budapest that ended in penalties. and for the police and emergency services. Sunday’s party quickly turned into something far harder to manage.
Arsenal Premier League title parade Met Police Emirates Stadium Champions League final PSG arrests north London London Fire Brigade travel disruption riots Paris
Sounds like Paris syndrome, people can’t handle losing.
Wait they arrested NINE people during the parade?? Like, for real?? I thought fans were just celebrating the title.
So they got drunk and then climbed on the police van roof? That part sounds wild but also I’m not surprised, it’s London and people act like idiots when their team loses. Also sexual assault?? that headline makes it sound like Arsenal themselves did it or something.
I can’t even focus like half of this is cut off in my feed but it says drugs + disorderly + assaults and emergency workers. Honestly this is why I don’t watch any of these title parades. And the PSG defeat was the cause?? maybe, or maybe it’s just always chaos in crowds anyway. Police vans getting banged and people climbing on roofs… yeah that’s not a celebration.