Six people were stabbed and 24 arrests were made during Arsenal's Premier League title celebration on Sunday, as 500 Metropolitan Police officers were deployed to manage the crowds. Hundreds of thousands of fans lined the streets around the Emirates Stadium for the trophy parade, but the event was overshadowed by serious violence, including gang-related offences.
Among the arrests, 10 people were held on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, and three on suspicion of sexual assault. One officer sustained a slash on the hand and another was hit on the head, both caused by thrown objects. Other arrests included offences such as being drunk and disorderly, making homophobic comments towards an officer, obstructing police, affray, and breach of a dispersal order.
The stabbings occurred along the parade route, with one man stabbed on Hornsey Road just after 8.30pm. He was taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition but is now stable. Other victims were not seriously injured. The London Fire Brigade rescued approximately 75 people from incidents at height and attended a fire at a hotel, believed to have been caused by a stray flare.
Commander Stuart Bell, who led the Met's public order operation, thanked the majority of fans who celebrated safely but condemned the violence. He said: 'We had been clear that violence and other criminality would not be tolerated... As the evening progressed, there was sadly further violence, including gang-related incidents.' Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart added that investigations are ongoing to bring offenders to justice.
