Simon Jordan has suggested that Arsenal duo Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac need to take more responsibility for their well-being following ongoing problems with London-based gangs.
Ozil and Kolasinac were attacked by knife-wielding carjackers in north London last month, with video footage revealing Kolasinac bravely chasing off the thugs.
The players were subsquently withdrawn from the squad for Sunday’s Premier League opener at Newcastle due to “further security incidents”.
Two men were arrested after becoming involved in an altercation with security staff outside Ozil’s house on Thursday.
Amid fears it has sparked a London gang war, Ozil or Kolasinac will not return to action any time soon with Gunners boss Unai Emery claiming he doesn’t know when they will next be available for selection.
Jordan was the victim of a similar incident to what Ozil and Kolasinac experienced in March 2018.
The former Crystal Palace owner was robbed of his £100,000 watch while driving in his Maserati in Croydon, London, with his elderly father in the passenger seat.
The man found guilty of the offence, Adam Yaroo, is currently serving 13 years in prison for a number of offences including the robbery of Jordan.
And Jordan claimed Ozil and Kolasinac need to do more to help guarantee their security considering their high wages.
Speaking to Jim White, Jordan said: “There’s a balance between what the club can do and what people of immense wealth can do for themselves.
“If you’re getting paid £17.5million a year as Ozil is, then you can protect yourself and provide your own security, I’m not entirely sure it’s the responsibility of your employers.
“We don’t live in an ideal world, we live in a world that is flawed and people take advantage.
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“The fact footballers are driving around in flash cars is academic. When people broke into Andy Carroll’s house, that’s got nothing to do with him driving around in flash cars, that’s just people knowing about the wealth he has and the likelihood he is going to have significant assets in his house – what can you do about that?
“Footballers have made their financial position very clear via the media, everybody understands they’ve got more money than God. So now they’ve got to grow into their skins and they’ve got to realise people will look at them differently and people will covet what I’ve got.
“Sometimes it’s the club’s responsibility to educate them and make them aware of that, but they’ve got to look after themselves.”
White interjected and asked Jordan: “Basically what you’re saying then, to Ozil and Kolasinac, is: ‘you earn enough, protect yourselves’…
To which Jordan replied: “I think so, yeah.
“I’m not saying Arsenal shouldn’t be concerned about the well-being of their individual players, but I am saying you guys have got to take responsibility for your own safety.”
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Kolasinac was particularly commended for his bravery chasing off the carjackers with world famous journalist and Arsenal fan Piers Morgan said the Bosnian should be made club captain as a result.
Jordan was quick to praise Kolasinac but also urged anyone else caught in that kind of situation to be careful.
He added: “Everyone says it takes a bigger man to walk away, but I wished I got out the car and smashed his [Yaroo’s] face in, and that’s why I looked at the Arsenal players and thought, ‘well done you guys’.
“But by the same token you have to be very, very careful because we’re living in a society where these people are behaving in a certain way and I just think the consequences for this behaviour has to be very strong in our judiciary system.
“It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be successful, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have nice cars, it doesn’t mean these people get to go around taking things from others, it means they should be properly, properly punished when they are eventually caught.”