Officers thank those who attended the Arsenal Champions Parade to celebrate responsibly

Officers have thanked the vast majority of people who attended the Arsenal Champions Parade to celebrate responsibly, but investigations continue after a number of arrests as well as six stabbings.

A total of 24 people were arrested after more than 500 officers were deployed across the event on Sunday, alongside specialist search and drone teams.

The Met worked closely with Arsenal Football Club, Islington Council, Transport for London and emergency services partners for several months to plan the event to ensure the parade was safe, well organised and enjoyable for everyone attending.

The arrests included:

• 10 people on suspicion of assault on police – one officer suffered a slash wound to the hand and another was hit on the head, both by objects thrown. One of the 10 people was also arrested for a recall to prison and on suspicion of a public order offence after being racially abusive towards officers.
• Three people on suspicion of sexual assault.
• One person on suspicion of grievous bodily harm in relation to an assault causing a head injury.
• One person on suspicion of possession of a lock knife and class C drugs.
• Two people on suspicion of possession with intent to supply class C drugs.
• Two people on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, one of those was also arrested for a public order offence after homophobic comments towards an officer.
• One person on suspicion of obstructing police.
• One person on suspicion of affray.
• Three people on suspicion of breach of a Section 35 dispersal order.

Everyone arrested was taken into custody.

Damage was also caused to four police vans in Therberton Street, Islington, with the vehicles suffering broken lights and several dents. No arrests have been made and enquiries continue.

Later on in the evening after most of the crowds had dispersed, officers dealt with six stabbings on the parade footprint. Most of the victims were not seriously injured, however one man in his 20s was initially taken to hospital in a life-threatening condition after being stabbed shortly before 20:30hrs in Hornsey Road, N7. Fortunately, he is now in a stable condition.

A Section 60 order was authorised overnight in the local area to help prevent further offences and give officers additional stop and search powers.

Commander Stuart Bell, who led the Met’s public order operation this weekend, said:

“I would like to thank the vast majority of the hundreds of thousands of Arsenal supporters who attended the day to celebrate safely and responsibly.

“There was a police presence along the route throughout the event, supporting event organisers and stewarding operations.

“However, we had been clear that violence and other criminality would not be tolerated and unfortunately there were pockets of anti-social behaviour and incidents where officers needed to intervene, including assaults on their colleagues.

“As the evening progressed and the majority of the crowds made their way home, there was sadly further violence, including gang-related incidents.

“Officers were swiftly on scene to each stabbing and investigations are ongoing.”

Chief Superintendent Jason Stewart, who leads policing in Islington, added:

“This of course was a huge and significant event for our community and Arsenal fans more widely and we worked closely with the local authority and other partners to plan for the event and then throughout the day.

“Our officers are back out on patrol today to provide visible reassurance and our investigation teams are working hard to identify offenders and bring them to justice. We stand with our local communities against violence.”