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Per Mertesacker says he was warned to keep his family away from the Emirates Stadium
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Arsenal star Per Mertesacker told to keep family away from Emirates because of Cologne crowd trouble

PER MERTESACKER says he was warned to keep his family away from the Emirates Stadium as Cologne fans went on the rampage last night.

Arsenal defender Mertesacker was keeping in touch with the latest news of event outside the ground as around 20,000 German supporters attempted to get into the ground.

 Per Mertesacker says he was warned to keep his family away from the Emirates Stadium
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Per Mertesacker says he was warned to keep his family away from the Emirates StadiumCredit: PA:Empics Sport
 Mertesacker was trying to keep in touch with what was happening after Cologne fans attempted to force their way into the ground
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Mertesacker was trying to keep in touch with what was happening after Cologne fans attempted to force their way into the groundCredit: Getty Images

And he revealed he was advised to tell those close to him not to bother coming to the match amid fears for their safety.

The Germany World Cup winner was asked if he thought it was the correct decision for the game to go ahead in light of the crowd problems, which Arsenal won 3-1.

Mertesacker said: "I have no idea. I don’t know what happened outside, I just wanted to make sure my family is OK.

"Some people said ‘tell them to stay at home’, because there were such big problems here outside of the stadium.

"So mixed feelings, but at the end we were just happy, to have played and have finished the game today."

Arsenal and Cologne have now both been charged by Uefa following chaotic scenes which resulted in the Europa League tie kicking-off an hour late.

 The match between Arsenal and Cologne went ahead after an hour's delay
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The match between Arsenal and Cologne went ahead after an hour's delayCredit: PA:Press Association

The Gunners face a hearing over allowing supporters to block the stairways in the away section, as they lost control of the number of fans in the ground.

And Cologne face four disciplinary charges after fireworks were let off, bottles thrown and scuffles broke out in the stadium.

 Per Mertesacker thanks the fans who stayed until the end of the match
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Per Mertesacker thanks the fans who stayed until the end of the matchCredit: Rex Features

Arsenal insist they were not responsible for what happened, even though they looked ill-prepared to cope with the influx of Cologne fans despite thousands being seen on the march to the ground all day.

Mertesacker added: "The fans who were in the stadium were quite enthusiastic, and it was quite fun to play in front of two crowds battling each other, in a way.

"It felt good to be part of that, and especially when we were 1-0 down, to get back, for the fans to get back into the game with us scoring two, we finally found our rhythm, and the fans as well were happy."



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