Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac both missed Arsenal’s season opener vs Newcastle United as they had to remain at home due to security issues.
A couple of weeks ago, the two Arsenal players were victims of a carjacking on the streets of London but they duo fought bravely and averted the situation.
But on Friday, there were reports that two men were arrested regarding the security threats.
A statement from the Metropolitan Police said(as reported by Goal): “Two men have been charged under Section 4a of the Public Order Act following an incident in Camden on Thursday, 8 August.
“Ferhat Ercan, 27, of Highgate, and Salaman Ekinci, 27, of Tottenham, were charged on August 9 following the incident and are due to appear at Highbury Corner magistrates’ court on 6 September.”
Hence Arsenal said on Friday(as reported by the BBC) the players had been left out of Sunday’s squad following “further security incidents which are being investigated by the police”.
“The welfare of our players and their families is always a top priority and we have taken this decision following discussion with the players and their representatives,” the club said.
While the Gunners did manage to cope up with the absence of Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac this Sunday but the manager has hinted they might also miss the next match.
“The club is managing that circumstance,” said Unai Emery.
“We want to be with them as soon as possible and with normality in training and normality to be ready to play. I don’t know now [if they will play next week].”
Arsenal will take on Burnley at home next weekend and if Emery’s statements are anything to go by then both Mesut Ozil and Kolasinac could miss that game too. But we don’t feel it will be a big concern for the manager since they will be facing a relatively weaker side.
