Arsenal aren’t generally known as a club that constantly start brawls, fights and riots, but that just makes the occasions where things do kick off all the more memorable.

Arsenal players are generally more likely to come off the pitch with an injury than a red card, and the fans will more often leave the stadium early to catch the last train than to wait outside the away end for a fight. However, let’s have a look at five times when that wasn’t the case:

4UEFA Cup Final Riots

17 May 2000: Arsenal line up before the UEFA Cup final against Galatasaray at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. The match finished 0-0 after extra-time, Galatasaray won 4-1 on penalties. \ Mandatory Credit: Phil Cole /Allsport
17 May 2000: Arsenal line up before the UEFA Cup final against Galatasaray at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen, Denmark. The match finished 0-0 after extra-time, Galatasaray won 4-1 on penalties. \ Mandatory Credit: Phil Cole /Allsport

In a darker turn of events off the pitch, Arsenal fans became involved in a series of riots in Copenhagen, around the UEFA Cup final in 2000.

It all started when a bar fight broke out on the morning of the match, which resulted in an Arsenal fan being stabbed. Later on, Galatasaray fans occupied City Hall Square before heading out to bars searching for Arsenal fans.

Then, those Galatasaray fans were attacked by British hooligan firms looking for revenge for the killing of two Leeds United fans by Galatasaray supporters a month earlier.

In total, there were 4 stabbings, 19 injuries and 60 arrests. 15 of those arrested were banned from attending Euro 2000, and the 19 British fans arrested were forbidden from returning to Denmark. Arsenal also banned 37 people from Highbury as a result of the riots. Hopefully, we won’t see similar scenes again in the future.

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