Arsenal issued a warning to travelling Cologne fans earlier this week, warning them they will be ejected from the Emirates if they are found in the home end.

More than 20,000 fans of the Bundesliga side have arrived in London for tonight's Europa League clash, despite the the club being allocated just 3,000 tickets at the Emirates.

This season sees Cologne return to European competition for the first time in 25 years, with the club quickly selling out their official allocation.

This lead to fears that thousands of fans could make the journey over to London without a ticket and that scenario was realised when an estimated 20,000 fans arrived in the English capital on Thursday.

German fans have hit the streets of London (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)
Only 3,000 tickets were allocated to the German side (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)
This marks Cologne's first European appearance for 25 years (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)

Aware of the heavy interest in the fixture from away fans, Arsenal looked to shut off any chance for trouble within the ground earlier this week.

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Arsene Wenger's side looked to shoot down any chances of away fans acquiring tickets among the home support, having issued warnings over travelling without tickets. They also refused to make tickets available to anyone who has joined the club's 100,000-strong membership scheme since last month's draw in Monaco.

A message on the Arsenal website said: "Please note visiting supporters that purchase a ticket in the home end for this fixture are likely to be ejected from the stadium.

"We have made this decision following consultation with the police and to ensure we are in line with crowd segregation requirements."

Tonight's game is officially sold out, but a capacity crowd is not expected for Arsenal's first ever group stage match in UEFA's secondary competition.

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