Sead Kolasinac Opens Up on Knife Attack Ordeal With Arsenal Teammate Mesut Ozil

19 September 2019 08:47

​For the first time since the incident occurred in July, Sead Kolasinac has publicly discussed the attempted knife attack he and teammate Mesut Ozil endured in London, explaining the aftermath was 'mentally tough'.

While out with their respective partners, the Arsenal duo were ambushed by the gang on mopeds, wielding knives. Incredibly, as seen in footage that went viral, the would-be attackers were chased away by the unarmed but fearless Kolasinac.

The heroics of the Bosnia & Herzegovina defender garnered widespread acclaim, after CCTV footage of the terrifying ​attack appeared online. Both the ​Arsenal pair and their partners, escaped unharmed, with the duo given permission to miss the Gunners' opening ​Premier League game of the season. 


Ahead of the club's Europa League clash with Eintracht Frankfurt, Kolasinac spoke to the media to discuss the incident for the first time publicly since it took place.


“Well, of course I’m happy to be back. Of course mentally this was hard, missing also training for a couple of days," he said, via the ​Mirror“I made up for it. I’m back and happy to be back with the team and able to perform with them on the pitch with the team."

Even after chasing off the thugs and getting to safety, the dreadful ordeal wasn't over, as further threats were made to the pair, leaving them under 24-hour watch. Extra security concerns arose as it is believed the situation has ​escalated into a gangland feud, with a rival Eastern European gang standing guard for the duo and warning the assailants that the Arsenal stars were 'off-limits'.

Nevertheless, with the situation tranquil once more, the left back insists him and ​Ozil still don't speak much of the ordeal, instead honourably placing their focus on winning football matches for the Premier League side.


“About what happened I don’t want to talk about it in details. It’s happened and it’s something that belongs to the past. The same with Mesut," he added. "We are back and we focus on our job and team. We have a very important match ahead here in Frankfurt.”

Source: 90min