Knife thugs admit Prem stars attack
Players targeted for £200k watches
TWO thugs have admitted the attempted knife robbery of Arsenal’s Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil.
Jordan Northover, 26, and Ashley Smith, 30, pleaded guilty to trying to steal the players’ £200,000 watches.
Bosnian defender Kolasinac, 26, was seen on CCTV footage chasing the moped thugs around Ozil’s £165,000 Mercedes G-wagon in Hampstead, North West London, in July.
The images released by Scotland Yard show Northover pulling a large knife on Kolasinac, at one point appearing to touch his chest with the blade.
Kolasinac squares up to him, before lunging forward as he fights back. The full-back, nicknamed The Tank, then
chases off the pair, who were wearing helmets and dark clothing. German midfielder Ozil, 31, remains in his vehicle with his wife Amine before driving off and taking refuge in a restaurant after being pursued by the raiders for a mile.
Speaking outside court yesterday, Chief Inspector Jim Corbett praised Kolasinac’s bravery saying: “Northover didn’t hesitate to draw a weapon when making demands, but he didn’t bargain on being challenged and the pair went away empty-handed.”
Following the ordeal, World Cup winner Ozil said: “Sead’s reaction was really, really brave because he attacked one of the attackers. We were newly wed and I was scared about my wife. I was scared about Sead. I saw one chance to drive. If they got to my wife, something terrible might have happened to her. “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.” Northover pleaded guilty at Harrow crown court to attempting to rob the players.
Smith appeared via videolink with a towel wrapped round his head following an attack in Pentonville Prison, North London, on Tuesday evening.
Police said a key breakthrough came when the moped the pair used was spotted without number plates by a suspicious member of the public in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire.
CCTV from a local pub showed Northover and Smith arriving a short time after the offence, and their clothes and a motorcycle helmet were found on grassland near the bar.
Smith, of Archway, North London, pleaded guilty earlier and will be sentenced tomorrow. Northover will be sentenced later.