• Club ‘have been in contact with both players and they are fine’ • Attempted robbery occurred in north London on Thursday

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The Arsenal full-back Sead Kolasinac fought off two men wielding knives after he and his teammate Mesut Özil were attacked in north London on Thursday.

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In a video of the incident, Kolasinac can be seen jumping out of a vehicle to confront the masked aggressors, who had pulled alongside the car on mopeds.

In the footage, both men were seen brandishing knives at 26-year-old Kolasinac, who ran at them regardless.

A witness, Azuka Alintah, told the Daily Mail that Özil had subsequently spoken to police outside a nearby Turkish restaurant, from which staff had come to the players’ aid. “Özil looked absolutely terrified, as anybody would after being chased by men with knives. He looked like he was running for his life.”

An Arsenal spokesperson said: “We have been in contact with both players and they are fine.”

Kolasinac and midfielder Özil are not the first London-based footballers to be targeted on the road. In 2016, then West Ham striker Andy Carroll was threatened at gunpoint on his way home from training.

Police, who had received reports of an attempted robbery, went to Platts Lane, in north-west London, shortly before 5pm, according to Scotland Yard.

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.” The spokesman said there have been no arrests and officers are still investigating the incident.