Man admits attempting to rob watches from Arsenal footballers Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil | London Evening Standard

Man admits attempting to rob watches from Arsenal footballers Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil

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A man has admitted attempting to rob watches from two Arsenal football stars.

Jordan Northover, 26, has pleaded guilty at Harrow Crown Court to attempting to rob watches from Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil.

The attempted robbery occurred in Platts Lane, in Hampstead, north-west London, on July 25, Harrow Crown Court heard.

Ashley Smith, 30, has already admitted his role in the attempted raid against childhood friends Ozil, 31, and Kolasinac, 26.

Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Oezil on Arsenal's tour of the US earlier in the summerArsenal FC via Getty Images

CCTV footage spread widely on social media showed burly Bosnian defender Kolasinac, nicknamed The Tank, chasing off the two moped attackers who were wearing helmets and dark clothing.

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The club's £350,000-a-week Germany midfielder Ozil can be seen in his black Mercedes G class jeep before he reportedly took refuge in a Turkish restaurant with his wife Amine.

Video footage shows Sead Kolasinac confronting the moped thugs in north London

As the robbers surround the vehicle, video footage shows Kolasinac leaping out of the vehicle and swinging punches at them despite being threatened with a blade.

Speaking to the Athletic about the incident, Ozil said: "Sead’s reaction was really, 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.

Ozil and Kolasinac are childhood friendsAFP/Getty Images

“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 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."

Both players missed the start of the Arsenal season due to the attempted robbery.