Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has recalled what he says was a terrifying carjacking he was involved in during the summer but insists it never made him want to leave London permanently.
The midfielder, along with his wife Amine and team-mate Sead Kolasinac, were allegedly attacked by armed robbers in North London back in July.
Ozil has now, for the first time, recalled what he says was a shocking attack but he has explained it never made him want to leave London for good after living in the capital since 2013.
“My wife wanted to get away immediately. She didn’t feel safe,” Ozil told The Athletic.
“Even if I let our dogs into the garden and went out with them she would say, ‘Come in, come in, stay in the house!’. She was very concerned.
“Something like this has never happened to us before. She told me — and Sead’s wife told him — let’s go back to our families, to be safe and let everything calm down.
“It was a bad couple of weeks but never made me want to leave London permanently. Now, even for my wife, everything is OK.
“I returned to training and my football was fine but my mind was always at home with my wife. She was alone in our house and you never know what happens. So I was thinking, ‘OK, just train and go back to your wife’.”
The alleged incident became major news after a video of the attempted attack appeared on social media.
Ozil has now gone into detail about what he calls a terrifying attack, which had him fearing for the safety of his wife.
“My wife was sitting next to me. Then these guys came. We were looking at each other for 10-15 seconds,” Ozil added.
“We were thinking maybe they want to take a picture or something — that’s happened before. Then we noticed that something was wrong. They obviously saw the big car and because Sead had just handed me something, they must have noticed he was wearing an expensive watch.
“Sead’s reaction was really brave because he attacked one of the attackers. The second one was in front of my car on his moped, so I couldn’t drive.
“We were newly wed and I was scared about my wife. I was scared about Sead. I wasn’t thinking about myself. I was worried they were going to open my wife’s door and they tried, so I reached across her to keep it closed.
“I saw one chance to drive. If they got to my wife, something terrible might have happened to her. It was going so quickly that you can’t think properly. I drove a little bit forwards and backwards to try and get the moped away. I told Sead, “Jump in! Jump in!” and thankfully he did. The second guy tried again to get in. Sead closed the door and I made a U-turn.
“I started driving but they followed. I was driving very fast but they kept coming close on the moped. I tried to move the car, block them, escape, but each time they would be there. My wife was extremely scared.
“Nothing happened to us, that’s the most important thing.”
Read the full interview with Mesut Ozil on The Athletic website.
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