Knife-wielding moped muggers targeted Arsenal stars Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac to try and snatch their super-expensive watches, it emerged today.

The pair were ambushed by the robbers at 5pm yesterday as £350,000-a-week midfielder Ozil left his £3million home in a black Mercedes G-Class, reportedly with his wife Amine Gulse in the back.

As the thugs surrounded the 4x4, Sead 'The Tank' Kolasinac, leapt out and bravely swung punches at the attackers despite being threatened with a knife, before he got back into the car and Ozil sped off, leading the thugs on a one-mile chase.

Today, Turkish journalist Alpaslan Duven claimed he had been contact late last night by the Turkish Ambassador in London about the incident.

'He told me that his [Ozil's] manager said to him they bought a new watch and they believed they were following them and they tried to steal from them,' Mr Duven said.

Ozil is known for his love of high-end timepieces, including a £30,000 special-edition 'Invincible' Rolex and a £6,600 special edition titanium Cyrus Kuros. Footage of Kolasinac confronting the attackers shows a watch on his left hand, although the make isn't clear.

Sead 'The Tank' Kolasinac confronting a knife-wielding attacker during the terrifying ordeal yesterday. Circled is his watch

Ozil at an Arsenal charity ball wearing his £30,000 special-edition 'Invincible' Rolex

Ozil seen leaving his London home today for the first time since his attempted carjacking yesterday

The moped thugs threatened Kolasinac with a knife (circled) but he bravely fought back

Kolasinac showed himself walking alongside his teammate in a tweet captioned, 'Think we're all fine'

Ozil's wife, Amina, (in the dress) was reportedly in the car at the time of the attack. They married this year at a ceremony where Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan (to the left of the footballer) was best man

The pair were ambushed by the robbers at around 5pm yesterday. Pictured is Sead 'The Tank' Kolasinac taking on the knife-wielding robbers

Kolasinac can be seen darting from the front end of the car to the rear as he faces off the assailants while protecting the passenger side door of the SUV

Mesut Ozil (dyed blonde hair) was pictured talking to officers outside Turkish restaurant Likya on Golders Green Road in north London after the wild attack

The players were chased through the mansion-lined streets of north London in a high-speed pursuit as attackers pelted the car with roof tiles to try and break the rear window.

Ozil overtook traffic on the wrong side of the road as 'ninja style' robbers followed them. During the pursuit, Kolasinac phoned a nearby Turkish restaurant on Golders Green where they were regulars, before they stopped there and jumped out.

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Staff rushed out to defend the Arsenal players from the thugs, who drove off on their mopeds. Despite their terrifying ordeal, the pair were all smiles this morning in a photo posted on Twitter by Kolasinac, which was captioned, 'Think we're all fine'.

Mr Ozil was also spotted today looking composed as he left his London home.

Yasmin Tahsiner, who owns the restaurant where the players and their spouses took refuge, said Amine Gulse - a former Miss Turkey who Ozil married this year, was in the car during the attack.

She said: 'Yesterday at about 5pm we got a phone call from Sead and Ozil,' she said. 'It was Sead - he was in the car at the time they were being chased, they were calling us.

'We didn't understand what had happened and then we saw the motorbike just from here and we realised it was serious.

'They stopped the car in front of the restaurant and they all came out and we saw the motorbikes just go past. But before that they had been chased for five or 10 minutes.'

Footage of the astonishing chase was obtained by The Mirror.

Other witnesses said 30-year-old Ozil looked 'terrified' as he jumped out of his car with Kolasinac at the Likya Turkish restaurant.

He had just brought a new watch before the attack, according to reports.

One witness told MailOnline: 'I saw Ozil being chased up my High Street by boys armed with knives.'

Simon Collins, 46, said the moped riders chased Ozil's car past the restaurant before the World Cup winning footballer did a 'u-turn' back towards the restaurant, and the moped riders sped off.

'They were carrying roof tiles,' he said. 'The Arsenal players were speeding away from them. They were chasing them and came up to traffic.

'Ozil's wagon tried to get away and went around the traffic to try to speed away. He had to go on the wrong side of the road. It was all under the speed limit.

'The moped guys dropped the tiles, and had to quickly jump off and pick them up.'

He added: 'Clearly it was their intention to chuck the tiles at the car window and smash it.'

CCTV footage captured before the chase began shows burly 6ft Bosnian Kolasinac squaring up to and rushing at a robber whose face is obscured by a crash helmet.

The 26-year-old darts toward the front end of the Mercedes to face off an attacker as he makes sure the front passenger door is protected.

Ozil (far right), his wife Amine Gulse (far left) with Sead Kolasinac and his bride Bella Kolasinac on their wedding day last month in Baden, Germany

Ozil and Kolasinac's terrifying route through north London yesterday afternoon as two mopeds revved behind Ozil's G-Wagon

Security staff are pictured outside Ozil's home this morning after the star's terrifying ordeal yesterday afternoon

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks as best man to Ozil at his wedding to Amine Gulse by the Bosphorus in Istanbul last month

The fullback then turns to the rear of the vehicle to steam towards an oncoming assailant who appears to be wielding a blade while wearing a helmet.

At this point Ozil is able to drive forward in the £100,000 SUV as Kolasinac swings his bare-fists at the thug.

KOLASINAC: THE TANK WHOSE FAMILY FLED BOSNIAN BLOODBATH The would-be robbers picked on the wrong man when they took on the man they call The Tank. Sead Kolasinac, the no-nonsense 6ft Bosnian international, was born in Germany to refugee parents who fled the hardships of the war in their Balkan homeland. And he revels in his 'pretty cool' nicknames, Destroyer as well as The Tank. His father, Faik, said his son's physical statue was down to the family's Bosniak roots. 'It's all about genetics,' he said. The Kolasinac family settled in Karlsruhe where Faik worked at a local Mercedes-Benz factory to support his wife and children. 'I have Germany to thank for everything, just like my family,' Sead said in 2017. 'At that time it was not easy as a refugee. In my country there was a war, it was not easy to go to Germany and gain a foothold. Germany made that possible.' Young Sead, seldom seen without a football at his feet, soon attracted attention of German teams but never forgot his roots. Every week he would return to his mother's kitchen for burek and traditional tarts. And the whole family make an annual pilgrimage back their former village of Domanovici. According to his father, Kolasinac adores being among his people. The traditional family life has continued with Sead, who married long-time girlfriend and social media influencer Bella just last month in Baden, Germany. He met her while he was playing at German side Schalke 04, where the five-years-older Mesut Ozil took him under his wing, the pair bonding over their shared Muslim faith. The religion played a significant part in Kolasinac's upbringing, with the youngster often skipping school to go to Islamic classes in the mosque. And his father proudly said there were times the boy would rather go hungry than eat pork. Advertisement

Off camera, Kolasinac was able to rejoin Ozil in the car and they sped away together, pursued by the raiders.

Waiters and chefs from the restaurant rushed to the aid of the football stars when they arrived forcing the riders to flee empty handed.

Neither of the Premier League players from the north London club were harmed.

Financial worker Azuka Alintah, 36, told the MailOnline: '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.

'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.

'As soon as the restaurant staff started to come to the window and to the doorway, they turned around and roared off.'

Kolasinac's fearless defence of his teammate is unsurprising to many Gunners fans who saw how Ozil took the Bosnian under his wing when he joined the north London club in 2017.

The pair have been friends since their teenage years, when Kolasinac looked up to the five-years-older Ozil when they were both at German side Schalke 04.

They became exceptionally close and last month they were pictured together at Kolasinac's marriage to Bella, alongside Ozil's wife Amine Gulse in Baden, Germany.

Both Bella and Amine wore wedding dresses by the same designer at their recent ceremonies. The Ozils' wedding in Instanbul took place in the same week as the Kolasinac's and Turkey's President Reccep Tayyip Erdogan was Ozil's best man.

After yesterday's attack, Ozil's car, with distinctive gold trim, was left in the middle of the Golders Green Road with the driver's door open.

After police arrived they blocked off the road as other units looked for the moped raiders.

The brazen attack took place near to the busy Golders Green Road and tube station in north London.

Ozil and Kolasinac had only returned to London the day before after a successful pre-season tour in America.

Mesut Ozil and his wife Amine in a recent social media post. The football star was unharmed in the attack

The fearless 6ft fullback can be seen bravely lunging at the assailant bare-fisted as Mesut Ozil puts his foot on the gas

Kolasinac can be seen taking on one of the attackers who wears a helmet and appears to be wielding a weapon

Fellow Gunners star Sead Kolasinac was seen warding off the attackers with his bare hands after leaping from the luxurious Mercedes

A motorbike can be seen in the foreground after the attackers boxed in the SUV - Kolasinac (moped a baseball cap) wastes no time in getting out to protect his teammate

Mesut Oszil (dyed blonde hair) can be seen talking to officers after the attack outside a Turkish restaurant he dived into to escape

Ozil abandoned his car in the middle of the road and fled on foot, ducking into the Turkish restaurant Likya

Staff at the Turkish restaurant Likya (above) in Golders Green refused to comment on the drama that unfolded when the Arsenal star sprinted inside to get away from the attackers

The pair gave statements to police before being allowed to leave.

A former neighbour of Ozil said he has been targeted five times in the area.

OZIL: THE £43M MAN WHO HAD PRESIDENT AS HIS BEST MAN The 30-year-old Arsenal midfielder signed for the north London side in 2013 for an undisclosed fee of around £43million from Real Madrid. The German footballer, whose family is Turkish, whipped up a political storm when he was pictured alongside Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last May. Criticism intensified after the defending champions Germany crashed out in the first round of the World Cup in Russia. In the wake of the World Cup fiasco, Ozil announced his resignation from the national squad, saying: 'I am German when we win, an immigrant when we lose'. Erdogan was Ozil's best man last month when he was married in Istanbul to former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse in June. He rose to prominence after stunning appearances in the U21 European Championships in 2009, netting a brace against England in Germany's 4-0 victory in the final. He transferred from Werder Bremen to Real Madrid in 2010 after a stellar performance in the senior World Cup of that year. He has impressed the Emirates crowds with his immaculate touches and ability to place balls on a ten pence piece. Advertisement

The unnamed resident said he had a knife held to his neck in one incident, and called for police to 'pull their finger out' after a spate of crimes in that part of north-west London.

'I've been done five times myself,' he said. 'I had a knife held to my neck at midday at the traffic lights, I was physically thrown in a bus lane at 6.30am when I was coming out of my office - the list goes on and on.

'The last time [it happened] I was at the property,' he added.

An Arsenal spokesman confirmed the players were involved in the failed carjacking, saying: 'We have been in contact with both players and they are fine.'

The footballers were in action just the day before as the Premier League side played Real Madrid in 2-2 draw in Washington DC before a late night transatlantic flight.

Renowned Arsenal fan Piers Morgan tweeted: 'Incredible guts from Sead Kolasinac - looks like he took on the whole moped/knife gang.'

The attack in Golders Green took place close to where comedian Michael McIntyre was forced to hand over his expensive watch after being set upon by an armed moped gang.

Mr MacIntyre had been parked outside his children's school in Golders Green when the brazen thugs smashed up his car and ripped the £15,000 timepiece from him.

Chief Inspector Jim Corbett of Operation Venice, the Metropolitan Police unit aimed at tackling motorcycle-enabled crime, urged any witnesses to come forward.

He said: 'Whilst detectives are actively pursuing lines of enquiry, I would ask any member of the public who has any information or video footage to contact police.'

He also said that over the past 12 months police had reduced this type of crime by more than half and that they will continue to target the culprits.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said yesterday: 'Police were called to NW3, shortly before 5pm on Thursday, 25 July to reports of an attempted robbery.

'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. Enquiries continue.'

Did YOU witness the drama? Email tips@dailymail.com or call 020 3615 1824

Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac in a warm up session in Los Angeles earlier this month as part of their pre-season - they had only just returned from the States the night before the attack