Arsenal footballers Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Özil escaped unharmed after two knife-wielding men on motorbikes attempted a carjacking in North London late Thursday evening.

In a partial video of the incident circulated on social media, Kolasinac, who was a passenger, can be seen jumping out of the black Mercedes to fight off the armed masked assailants who had pulled up next to the vehicle.

German footballer Özil and his Bosnian teammate, who spent several seasons with Özil's first club, Schalke, then escaped to a nearby restaurant and called police.

No arrests

"It was reported that suspects on motorbikes had attempted to rob a man who was driving a car," a spokesman for London Metropolitan Police told the Agence France-Presse news agency.

"The driver, along with his passenger, managed to get away unharmed and traveled to a restaurant in Golders Green, where they were spoken to by officers."

No arrests have been made.

In a statement, an Arsenal spokesperson said the club had "been in contact with both players" and that "they are fine." 

Kolasinac on Friday posted a photo of himself and Özil laughing, captioning it "Think we're fine," and also making use of the clenched-fist emoji — a personal favorite used in most posts issued by the defender, who also has a strikingly combative playing style on pitch. 

Broadcaster and celebrity Piers Morgan, an Arsenal fan, responded to the incident by saying that "I would make Kolasinac captain of Arsenal with immediate effect." 

In a similar 2016 incident, a striker at fellow London club West Ham, Andy Carroll, was threatened at gun point on his way home from training. 

cw/msh (AFP, AP, Reuters)

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