Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Robbery of Arsenal's Mesut Ozil, Sead Kolasinac

Ashley Smith has pleaded guilty to the attempted robbery of Arsenal players Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac.

Per Sky News, the 30-year-old admitted via video link at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Thursday that he tried to steal the pair's watches and will now be sentenced on November 1.

As noted in the report, Ozil and Kolasinac were followed through Hampstead in north London on July 25. When the former's car stopped, Smith and another man sought to smash the windows using a brick and stones.

CCTV footage later emerged of Kolasinac trying to confront the robbers:

Neither player was hurt in the incident, and the defender posted the following on Twitter the day after:

Per BBC Sport, in addition to attempted robbery, Smith was also charged with threatening with an offensive weapon. The same charges were also put to 26-year-old Jordan Northover.

The incident disrupted Kolasinac and Ozil's starts to the 2019-20 season. Neither was included in the squad for the opening fixture against Newcastle United, with Arsenal saying "further security incidents" were the reasons behind their omission.

Kolasinac has made four starts in the Premier League this season, although he is set to face serious competition for his place in the coming weeks from new signing Kieran Tierney, who has returned to fitness following a recent injury layoff.

Ozil has only featured once in the top flight and wasn't included in the squad for Monday's clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.