Köln Fans Storm Arsenal's Emirates Stadium, Delaying Match

Droves of FC Köln fans visited Arsenal's North London home for a Europa League match today—the German side's first appearance in the tournament since 1992-93—and some stormed Emirates Stadium, causing the game to be delayed. Speculation was that the game was going to be cancelled entirely, but reports are that Arsenal has "the situation under control" and the match will begin at 9:05 local time.

Just take a look at this scene from North London, hours prior to the match, where the streets are teeming with Köln fans:

Hard to tell if this many Köln fans commuted from Germany—or whether they're London-based—but it's safe to say numbers are reaching the tens of thousands. At first, things were so packed that the FourFourTwo magazine's digital editor Joe Brewin reported that Arsenal fans were having difficulty entering Arsenal's Emirates Stadium:

And that's when things erupted into chaos:

Here's one of the main reasons behind the riotous crush:

For now, this is what Emirates Stadium looks like, devoid of fans:

We'll keep you updated, as this story develops.

UPDATE

The game started an hour late, as promised, with much of the home section at Arsenal taken over by Köln fans.

In the 9th minute, Köln caught Arsenal's keeper off his line and capitalized with a beautiful 40-yard goal:

But despite Köln's best efforts, Arsenal took the game 3-1, including this beauty of a goal by Sanchez:

Always sad to see a home team lose like that.