Mesut Ozil attacked by knife-wielding moped gang on London street as Arsenal team-mate Sead Kolasinac fights thugs off with bare hands
MESUT OZIL was forced to “run for his life” as he and Arsenal team-mate Sead Kolasinac were the victims of an attack by knife-wielding moped thugs in London today.
German World Cup winner Ozil was seen racing down Golders Green Road in his black Mercedes G-Class SUV as the mopeds chased him.
Kolasinac is then seen leaping from the £100,000 vehicle and fighting off the armed robbers with his bare hands on camera.
Ozil then abandoned his car and fled the road on foot, taking refuge in nearby Turkish restaurant Likya.
Staff immediately rushed to his defence, piling out onto the street to help chase away the attackers.
Police arrived on the scene sharpish, and they were spotted questioning the Gunners forward on the pavement over the shocking incident by bystanders.
Financial worker Azuka Alintah, 36, was out food shopping when she witnessed the horrifying event.
‘RUNNING FOR HIS LIFE’
He told the Daily Mail: “It was totally mad and strange. His car was standing there empty in the middle of the road with its door hanging open. It is very distinctive, with gold trim.
“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. They stood out. It was really creepy.
“God knows what would have happened if they’d caught him. It looked to me like he’d have been hacked to shreds and he clearly thought so too.”
The eye witness added: “As soon as the restaurant staff started to come to the window and to the doorway, they turned around and roared off. The police were there shortly afterwards and the road was almost blocked off.’
“It was totally surreal, just surreal and strange. You don’t expect something like that to happen at any time, particularly the mid-afternoon.”
The restaurant manager confirmed the incident also but declined to comment on the scary ordeal.
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A spokesperson for Arsenal also confirmed the duo were involved in a car-jacking incident tonight.
But insisted: “We have been in contact with both players and they are fine.”
Both players have just returned to England following Arsenal’s pre-season tour of America.
They each started yesterday morning’s 2-2 draw with Real Madrid in Washington DC, an International Champions Cup clash they lost 3-2 on penalties, before jetting back to the UK overnight.