Arsenal 3 Cologne 1: Alexis Sanchez sparks comeback on night of crowd disorder and drama

The BT Sport interviewer didn't ask Wenger a single question about the crowd congestion and the delayed kick-off. Extraordinary. Quite extraordinary. 

But they don't have time to take it. Arsenal come back from a poor first-half to dominate with some, at times, magnificent attacking play. 

The first of two minutes of added time begins with a quick intervention from Mertesacker to start a spell of keepball that ends when Giroud plays the percentages to win a  corner off Mere's shins. 

Quick, bright passing in triangles and quadrilaterals from Arsenal. Wilshere and Giroud to the fore with flicks and back-heels but it's purposeful and makes space for Sanchez to get round the back on the left where he's found by Nelson. Sanchez tries to finish from the byline with an outrageous chip that hoops past the far post. 

Cologne fans are giving it the scarf treatment in 'their' end as Arsenal attempt to manage an end to the game without the drama that has preceded it. They're doing it effectively so far. 

Nelson has replaced Maitland-Niles. 

Here's Sanchez with the second. 

 

A reward for his Duracell bunny running. Sanchez and Kolasinac link up productively again. Kolasinac bombs on down the left, drills a centre across the 18-yard line. Wilshere feints and dummies, taking out two defenders and Walcott shoots low. Horn swoops down to block it but Bellerin, sniffing the opportunity, had continued his run into the box and swept home the rebound. 

 

A goal from Héctor Bellerín for Arsenal makes the score 3-1.

It's been all Arsenal, with the hosts racking up 15 shots so far - 1. FC Köln have managed just nine in reply.

Bellerin makes it 3-1. 

Snap shot from Jojic. He's 20 yards out and well fed by Cordoba's neat lay-off. He strikes it crisply but it's straight at Ospina, who slaps it down and catches it on the rebound. 

Terrific through ball from Wilshere splits the defence and gives Sanchez a chance to shoot. He does and spoons a rotten shot wide ... but it matters not as he was miles offside even if the linesman took his time to raise his arm. 

Cologne sub: Osako on for Klunter.

Sanchez curls a free-kick over the wall and down Horn's throat. 

Cordoba takes the ball on halfway on the right, nutmegs Monreal and storms forward. When he reaches the edge of the box, he tries to gull Ospina with a sharp near-post cross but the keeper is wise to it and smothers.

Here's Tony Woodcock for those who were reading four hours ago. Also works as the answer to what happens if Bernard Sumner had Peter Hook's hair:

 

Wilshere's first touch is cheered and he rides Hoger's tackle, scurries forward and survives a block tackle with Klunter. 

Wilshere replaces Iwobi. 

Sanchez cuts in from the touchline on the left. He had chased down Iwobi's too heavy pass by the whitewash, shimmied past Klunter and seemed to take too many touches which had allowed reinforcements to flood the box. But he evaded them all by whipping a shot in, Henry style, with his right foot and bent it in at the far post. 

A goal from Alexis Sánchez for Arsenal makes the score 2-1.

Sanchez with a screamer! Arsenal take the lead. 

Ainsley Maitland-Niles palys a one-two with Giroud outside the box and jinks his way into it, between Mere and Heintz. The keeper comes out but it's advantage Maitland-Niles but instead of dinking it over the advancing keeper, he tries to take it to the left and Horn is able to reach it with his right hand and slap it away. Maitland-Niles drops his head into his hands. 

Good reading of Bittencourt's intention by Monreal when the former was trying to control a ball with his back to goal on the 18-yard line. He nipped in to whip it away between trapping it and trying to lay it off.  

 

Bellerin hares back to bail Iwobi out when he lost the ball in central midfield and triggered a Cologne counter. 

Here's Kolasinac's goal and his celebration, in which he revealed he was wearing a Schalke T-shirt, which would be a huge provocation to the Cologne fans, wouldn't it?

 

Sanchez has had his spinach at half-time, dropping off Lehmann and bending a great bass out to the right for Bellerin. The right-back drills a first-time cross through the six-yard box. Walcott's made another dangerous run to the near post but Heintz sticks to him and doesn't give him a chink of light to hook his shot in. Good defending. 

Arsenal's switch has made a difference, Kolasinac teams up with Sanchez to double team Klunter and is the beneficiary when Sanchez plays him in behind the right-back. Kolasinac crosses through the box and finds Iwobi who almost makes it through a thicket of Cologne defenders but goes over the bar.

Clever scooped pass from Elneny over the back four and this time Walcott isn't unjustly punished for a brilliantly timed run. Walcott cushions the pass and hits a cross from the left of goal for Giroud. It hits a defender and bounces towards Kolasinac who smashes in a fierce left-foot dipping volley. Fine finish. 

An equaliser from Sead Kolasinac for Arsenal makes it 1-1.

Arsenal have attempted eight shots so far, compared to five for 1. FC Köln.

Kolasinac has equalised. 

The corner is sent long to Sanchez at the edge of the box. He holds it, dribbles towards the D then spins a pass over for Walcott who is flagged offside even though he wasn't. The replay stops John Hartson's whine halfway up his throat. 

Sanchez switches to the right and finds Walcott who earns a corner off Rausch. 

Monreal moves inside and Arsenal have switched to 4-3-3. They're passing it around and Sanchez drops back to receive it. 

Kolasinac on for Holding. 

Why not switch to four at the back, take off Maitland-Niles, stick Iwobi on the left and Wilshere in the middle with Elneny.  

 

He has such an expressive face, such loquacious body language, that he is a picture editor's dream.

 

The word 'du jour' among commentators and pundits for Arsenal's performance is 'sloppy'. It's only suitable if it's a synonym for lacking confidence affecting their crispness and precision. They look hesitant and bewildered at times.  

Wenger and Bould are shown side-by-side not speaking to each other. Theirs is a very oddball relationship. How can you be someone's assistant if you barely seem to converse.  

 

Elneny is robbed because he doesn't have any options in front of them. Anxiety has frozen them. He gets away with it because he's fouled but that doesn't stop him lividly remonstrating with Sanchez and Maitland-Niles. 

Arsenal work a good move from a long ball up from Elneny. Walcott stuns the ball deftly, back to goal, rolls it to Sanchez who tries to bend it diagonally from inside to out for Bellerin's overlapping run. But Sanchez overhits it. Goal kick.  

 

A tale of two crosses - a rubbish one from Maitland-Niles when he hits the first defender after getting round the back. But sterling hound dog work form Iwobi wins the ball back and works it out to Sanchez. The Arsenal No7 and inhabitant of purgatory floats in a wonderful dipping cross that Giroud meets six yards out. Should score, but he makes a right goose of it, nodding it tamely at Horn. Arsenal fans, some of them, are whistling. 

Bittencourt mugs Walcott who was trying to turn him 10 yards outside the Cologne box and bombs forward. He makes 60 yards and fires in a cross towards the back post that is just too high for Jojic. The substitute reaches it only at the apex of his leap and eyebrows it straight up, giving Arsenal the time to reconfigure and clear. 

Milos Jojic is Hector's replacement. Arsenal look bowel-shrivellingly fragile at the back. 

Hector is going off with an ankle problem that was caused when Ospina, in something of a flap, dived on to his foot. 

While Hector receives treatment, Elneny gets himself into a good position to shoot but shanks it wide. Set himself up well but fluffed it. Hector is hobbling badly. 

 

Heart in mouth moment for Arsenal when Zoller races through to meet a ball over the top from the so far excellent Rausch. Reprieve comes courtesy of a late linesman's flag. Ospina, who was blindsided by Hector, trying to race round him in support, clatters into the Germany left-back, who is playing centre-mid for his club.  

Köln cörner and they make it a hubristic one, trying to work an intricate volley finish form range. Arsenal defend it easily, break forward and have the runners to swamp the Cologne box but Sanchez's final pass is garbage. 

The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: "Officers are dealing with disorder at the Emirates Stadium where fans have gathered for the Arsenal v FC Cologne match.

"A policing plan is in place for the game and additional officers have been deployed."

 

Inswinging cross from the right aiming for Giroud's near-post dart. It's just behind him, though, and he raises his left foot, 'scorpion' or 'shut that door' style but this time doesn't deliver a miracle. Plenty of audible jeffing and yet more effing picked up on the BT Sport mics. From Arsenal fans, needless to say.

Holding scoops up a pass when sliding into a tackle 10 yards inside the Cologne half. The ball pops up to Iwobi who threads a pass down the inside left channel for Walcott. He bounds forward to try to get there but his touch isn't good enough and Rausch recovers to stop Arsenal's surge. 

 

Cologne fans bouncing up and down in club level seats as well as family enclosure. Displaced Arsenal fans are trying to find seats elsewhere in the ground.

Here's an early look at the goal:

Excellent cross from Bellerin arcs in from the right and Giroud makes a proper Horlicks of the header from 12 yards. He gets too far over it and heads it into the turf to make it an easy save for Horn. 

For all their possession, the hosts still trail to 1. FC Köln.

The infuriating Walcott's timing is all to cock. A fine ball up from Bellerin should have earned him a chance but he was far too quick off the mark, didn't watch the defensive line, and was caught two metres offside. 

Giroud plays Mertesacker into trouble with an ill-judged backpass and he can't clear properly, Lehmann hoists it back into the box and Zoller gets beyond Mertesacker with Ospina to beat from 8 yards but Holding flies in to the rescue. 

Arsenal register their first shot, in response to three so far from 1. FC Köln.

Better. Elneny carves a pass out from the D to Maitland-Niles on the left. He bends his run round Klunter and drills in a low near-post cross that Giroud meets and tries to flick in but it's pushed behind for a corner. Monreal makes a clever run and heads smartly but Horn is swiftly down to save. 

There are quite a few empty seats but perhaps because fans with children have decided it's not worth the trouble? Bittencourt whacks a speculative shot miles over from 25 yards. Alexis Sanchez has got the face on already. Now then Mardy Bum. The Cologne fans are bouncing. 

Pretty worrying scenes still at Emirates. Reports of violence next to away end and clearly very many Cologne fans in Arsenal's Clock End. Arsenal fans say they are being told by stewards to move to other parts of the ground, but they have no tickets for where they are moving to.

Ospina raced out of his box to clear weakly. It's intercepted on halfway by Bittencourt who taps it to Jhon Cordoba. The centre-forward lobs the retreating keeper from 45 yards and Cologne fans light their red flares in celebration. 

Jhon Córdoba strikes early to open the scoring - it's 0-1 to 1. FC Köln.

Cordoba has scored for Cologne from 45 yards. 

It's all Cologne as far as the noise but Arsenal are having the possession. Wasteful final ball, though, and Giroud is not so far doing the basics of ball retention well. It's not sticking. 

Walcott has a sniff of space in the box on the right when he's played through by Bellerin but he allows Rausch to get in front of him and then fouls him needlessly. 

It's the hat-trick for Holding on Bittencourt and a second free-kick, 20 yards out, by the right corner of the box. Lehmann takes and strikes it straight into Elneny's shins. 

Walcott loses the ball up the right after Holding halts Bittencourt's attempt to break into the box. A few seconds later Holding stops Bittencourt again, this time illegally, with a shove. 

Arsenal kick -off and move the ball up the left through Maitland-Niles who finds Iwobi. Hector cuts out the latter's intended pass to Sanchez and Cologne attempt to hot Arsenal on the counter. 

And the Cologne fans are making a right old racket. 

A reminder of the teams:

Arsenal Ospina; Holding, Mertesacker, Monreal, Bellerin;  Iwobi, Elneny, Maitland-Niles; Walcott, Giroud, Sanchez.
Subs Macey, Wilshere, Mustafi, Reine-Adelaide, Kolasinac, Akpom,  Nelson. 

Cologne Timo Horn; Klunter, Mere, Heintz, Rausch; Hector;  Bittencourt, Hoger, Lehmann, Zoller; Cordoba. Subs Kessler,  Sorensen, Risse, Jojic, Osako, Guirassy, Jannes Horn. 

Referee Javier Estrada Fernandez (Spain) 

 

 

 

Are due at the Emirates on Nov 2. The stewards and police will have to give their heads a shake or there will be similar if not worse scenes. 

I can't see this match going ahead. Look at this:

 

 

But reports suggest that scores of ticket touts have been flogging their wares to Cologne fans regardless of where the seats are in the stadium.

Walking round the ground it is obvious Cologne fans have got their hands on thousands of tickets in the Arsenal end. 

I even saw one fan with a leather jacket emblazoned with 'Cologne f------ rocks' going into Club Level - the most expensive, corporate part of the stadium. 

There are no issues outside because the visiting fans clearly have genuine tickets, with the stewards powerless to deny them entry. 

Inside the ground might be more problematic. 

Some fans now being allowed in and official plan is still of 9.05pm kick-off but stewards aware that discussions are ongoing about how to handle the situation. 

 

I have walked round the side of the Emirates Stadium up to the gates where the away fans are now coming in to the ground. The issue is the safety of others outside with the sheer numbers of Cologne fans around the ground. The anecdotal reports from security guards is that there is a discussion between both clubs and Uefa as to whether the game can go ahead and clearly they need to make a decision quickly. I was even told to take off my press accreditation from around my neck – apparently official passes have a currency.

 

Telegraph Sport's Julian Bennetts is also at the Emirates this evening as a spectator.

This is the scene outside the Emirates.

Gates shut but fans still queuing as no announcement has been made outside the ground. People can hear the tannoy inside but it's not clear. Everyone relying on phones, stewards don't know what's going on either.

Cologne fans everywhere, many in Arsenal scarves and other club gear, presumably so they can try and get in. All pretty calm though.

Sam Wallace is on the scene with this update:

The police have blocked the footbridge from Drayton Park to the Emirates and also the route that runs around the ground. There is a large group of fans being held on the bridge. The Cologne fans outside gates L and K are still waiting to be allowed into the stadium

Jeremy Wilson reports

Arsenal have been forced to delay their Europa League fixture with Cologne after thousands of ticketless away fans descended on the Emirates, causing congestion that made it impossible to get supporters safely into the stadium.

Police had closed off the major bridges leading to the stadium as early as 6pm amid an estimated arrival in London of 20,000 Cologne fans.

Read on 

 

 

Is surely wrong. Iwobi would play on the left, not in the centre, and Maitland-Niles in the middle, I would expect. Unless Wenger is trolling the Billy Goats' gruff. 

Cologne were allocated 3,000 tickets, there are 20,000 Goats there and they have been told, apparently, that they will be ejected if they go in the home end. Rumours of violence and an attempt to force entry but that's all they are for now. 

 

 There are about 20,000 Koln fans around the Emirates, but do they all have tickets? 

Because of crowd congestion. 

No details yet as to why. 

 

 

Quite a contrast in emotions between tonight's exuberant visitors at the Emirates and the hosts who, largely, would rather be anywhere else but here today, in the words of old 'Four Eyes, One Vision' himself, Elvis Costello. After 17 successive seasons of qualification for the Champions League and progression to the knockout phase, Arsenal find themselves back in the Uefa Cup and without a parachute this time.

For Cologne, however, and their 20,000 ebullient travelling fans, it's a return to European competition for the first time since 1992-93 (unless we count the Intertoto Cup, which we don't). Small wonder, then, that the Billy Goats have turned up in such extraordinary numbers to turn the town red. This afternoon, there was a K Bomb in Wardour Street, an interesting choice for a mass saunter. Did they fancy a visit to a postage stamp preview theatre? A decent espresso? Visit the site of the old Intrepid Fox to check out where The Status Quo used to hang? Or have they been absent for so long they still see it as the sleazy, bawdy heart of  the city.

They certainly lively upped the neighbourhood and were in fine form despite losing all three league matches so far this season. Arsenal, in  subdued rather than surly mood, welcome them for the Emirates' debut Europa League match and will send out a team comprised largely of those with points to prove, if only to scream 'Remember me!' 

For we venerable gets, Arsenal vs Cologne means only one thing: Tony Woodcock, the European Cup-winning England striker who had two spells at the Mungersdorfer either side of four years at Highbury when he was leading scorer in the first three. What a side they had during his first stay, two years on from winning the title in 1977-78 (beating St Pauli 5-0 on the final day to prevent Borussia Monchengladbach's preposterous and fishy demolition of Borussia Dortmund by 12 [twelve in the old Videprinter style] goals to nil diddling them by dynamiting their goal difference advantage).

Woodcock joined a team with Toni Schumacher (pre-GBH), Pierre Littbarski, Dieter Muller, Heinz Frohe, Herbert Zimmerman, the wonderful Bernd Schuster and Yasuhiko Okudera, whose recruitment from Japan is one of the most fascinating of all 1970s football tales. They finished fifth, as they did last season, qualified for the Uefa Cup and went all the way through to the semi finals where, any old fule kno, they came up against Ipswich Town who knocked them out and went on to win the final. 

Enough of memory lane. I'm always drawn back to it but you shouldn't have to suffer. Arsenal, Mathieu Debuchy and all, ought to win tonight but we're bound for an electric atmosphere. The Emirates could do with a lift...

What is it?

It's the Europa League Group H clash between Arsenal and Cologne at the Emirates.

When is it?

It's this evening, so Thursday September 14, 2017.

What time is kick-off?

Arsenal will have to get used to the new Europa League kick-off time of 20.05BST

What TV channel is it on?

You can watch live coverage on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport 2 HD. Alternatively, you can follow our rolling blog with Rob Bagchi. Bookmark this page and return later for team news, build up and blow-by-blow account of the match as Arsenal venture into Europa League waters.

What is the team news?

Petr Cech, Laurent Koscielny, Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck, Granit Xhaka and Alexandre Lacazette will all be rested for the visit of the Bundesliga side with Arsene Wenger having one eye on Sunday's Premier League clash at Chelsea.

Jack Wilshere could make his first Arsenal appearance in over a year while Alexis Sanchez may also feature, but Francis Coquelin (hamstring) and Santi Cazorla (ankle) are out.

Cologne could bring Jorge Mere and Marcel Risse or back into their line up. 

What are they saying?

Arsene Wenger:

“We will take it seriously but the priority is to focus on the Premier League and combining the two.

“Then, in December, we will see, but at least we want to qualify for the next round. Thursday to Sunday morning is short so I have to think about that. But we have to win at home and you know how it is when you don’t win at home.”

Cologne captain Matthias Lehmann:

"We really look forward to the challenge, it is independent to the Bundesliga. We want to enjoy the game and show passion in the game.

"We are definitely not the favourite, they have a big squad and top players and there will be other top players who start.

"Arsenal are of course the big favourites but we believe in ourselves, it is a highlight and we will see what their line-up is tomorrow but it doesn't really matter."

What are the odds?

Arsenal to win: 2/5

Draw: 7/1

Cologne: 4/1

What's our prediction?

Arsenal to get off to a 2-0 winning start.