Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac were chased for a mile by knife-wielding motorbike riders in an attempted daylight carjacking in London yesterday.
The Arsenal stars, who have just returned to England following the club’s pre-season tour of the United States, were set upon as Ozil drove his black Mercedes G-Class through Golders Green, north London, in the late afternoon.
Suddenly the vehicle was targeted by two men on a motorbike. In a CCTV video that has circulated on social media, Bosnian defender Kolasinac gets out of the car and bravely confronts the two knife-carrying men.
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The 26-year-old, nicknamed “The Tank”, stands his ground against his assailants before the motorbike veers away and the clip ends.
However, says the Daily Mail, there then ensued “a high-speed chase that lasted for more than a mile”, as the men on the motorbike continued their pursuit of the Arsenal stars.
Running for his life
Ozil drove to a Turkish restaurant he frequents on Golders Green Road where staff came to their assistance as the pair fled the vehicle.
According to one eye-witness who spoke to the Mail: “Ozil looked absolutely terrified, as anybody would after being chased by men with knives. He looked like he was running for his life. And I suppose he was.
“I saw him disappear into the restaurant with the motorcycle guys on his tail. They didn’t take off their helmets and were all in black, wearing long sleeved tops in this hot weather.”
As Ozil and Kolasinac took shelter inside Likya restaurant, several staff emerged and at this point the assailants “turned around and roared off”.
All fine
In a statement Arsenal said: “We have been in contact with both players and they are fine.”
A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said: “It was reported that suspects on motorbikes had attempted to rob a man who was driving a car.
“The driver, along with his passenger, managed to get away unharmed and travelled to a restaurant in Golders Green, where they were spoken to by officers.”
There have been no arrests so far.