【厄齐尔阿森纳】【长文翻译】厄齐尔独家专访！“这里是我的家，我哪也不去”

he is one of the most enigmatic foot ballers in the world、dividing opinion like few others和especially among arsenal fans。

他是世界上最神秘的球员之一，特别是阿森纳球迷中很少有人评论他这样的两极分化。

On and off the pitch, his highs and lows generate endless debate, praise and criticism. In recent months, he has been a peripheral figure for his club, attacked by thugs near his home and increasingly divorced from Germany, the team he helped to win the World Cup in 2014.

球场内外，他的高光与低迷引发了无休止的争议，赞扬和批评。最近几个月，他成了俱乐部里的边缘人物，在家附近被黑帮袭击，并且脱离了曾在14年世界杯夺冠的德国。

Until today, he has also kept his counsel, declining to speak publicly about any of those issues. But in an exclusive interview with The Athletic, Mesut Ozil breaks his silence.

直到今天以前，他对这些事情都闭口不谈，拒绝向公众谈论这些问题。但在这次独家专访中，厄齐尔打破了沉默。

During a wide-ranging conversation, the 31-year-old discusses:

在这次宽泛的谈话中，这位31岁的球员提到了：

His intention to stay at Arsenal until “at least” the summer of 2021

他想要待在阿森纳“至少”到2021年夏天

Why he believes condemnation of his performances is “ridiculous”

为什么他认为对于他表现的谴责是“可笑的”

The moped attack that left his wife feeling “scared” in their own home

黑帮的袭击让他的妻子在家里感觉非常“害怕”

How “racist abuse” forced him to quit the Germany national team

“种族歧视”是如何迫使他离开德国国家队的

A feeling of “respect” that led to his association with Turkey’s president

一种“尊敬”感使得他和土耳其总统有联系

Ozil joined Arsenal from Real Madrid in 2013 and signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract worth £350,000 per week in January 2018.

厄齐尔13年从皇马加盟阿森纳，并在18年签了一份三年半周薪35万镑的新合同。

But the end of that season saw the departure of Arsene Wenger, the manager who signed Ozil, and since then his role has diminished.

但在签下厄齐尔的温格卸任的那个赛季结束后，厄齐尔的角色也式微了。

Ozil has featured in just two of Arsenal’s 11 games so far this season and last season became a peripheral figure away from home in particular, playing just 600 minutes in the league. Fifteen players were used more.

厄齐尔在阿森纳本赛季的11场比赛中只踢了两场，而在上赛季特别是客场比赛中也成了边缘人物，只在联赛里踢了600分钟，有15名球员踢得比他更多。

Only Christian Eriksen, David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne have made more assists in the league since Ozil joined Arsenal — his talent is doubtless. However, the playmaker has not been as effective in recent seasons  and he is being heavily linked with a January move away from the club amid indications that he does not figure in head coach Unai Emery’s plans. Despite this, he was still named as one of Emery’s five captains.

自厄齐尔加盟阿森纳后，只有埃里克森，大卫席尔瓦和德布劳内在联赛里的助攻比他多，他的天赋是毋庸置疑的。然而，他最近的效率大不如前（15-16赛季的巅峰期他在90分钟内的机会创造数是4.31，而本赛季只有1.27）且传言称他有可能在一月份被外租，表明了他不在主教练埃梅里的计划当中。尽管如此，他仍是埃梅里指定的5位队长之一。

But when asked if he is heading for the exit, Ozil replies firmly: “No. I have a contract until the summer of 2021 and I will be staying until then.

但当他被问及是否准备离开时，厄齐尔坚定的回答：“不，我的合同一直到21年夏天，我会留下直到那个时候。”

“When I signed the new deal, I thought about it very carefully and said it was one of the most important decisions of my footballing career. I didn’t want to stay for just one or two more years, I wanted to commit my future to Arsenal and the club wanted me to do the same.

“当我签下新合同，我深思熟虑过并说过这是我球员生涯中最重要的决定之一。我不希望只是在这多待一两年，我想要把我的未来奉献给阿森纳而俱乐部也是这样希望的。”

“You can go through difficult times, like this, but that is no reason to run away and I’m not going to. I’m here until at least 2021.

“你会挺过这些艰难时光的，就像现在这样。但没有理由去逃避，我也不打算去逃避。我会留在这至少到21年。”

“I said that Arsene Wenger was a big factor in me joining Arsenal — and he was — but ultimately I signed for the club. Even when Arsene announced he was leaving, I wanted to stay because I love playing for Arsenal and that’s why I’ve been here for six years.

“我说过温格是我加盟阿森纳的一大因素。但说到底和我签约的是俱乐部。即使温格宣布了他的离任，我仍想留下。因为我热爱为阿森纳效力，这也是我在这已经六年的原因。”

“When I moved from Real Madrid, it was a really tough time for Arsenal. But I always believed in what we could do and together we delivered. More recently things have been difficult and a lot has changed. But I’m proud to be an Arsenal player, a fan and I’m happy here. Whenever people see me in the street I always say, ‘This is my home’. I’m going nowhere.”

“当我从皇马转会过来，那时正是阿森纳的困难时期。但我总是相信我们能做到，我们能一起做到的。最近事情变得有些困难，很多事都变了。但我仍自豪我是一名阿森纳球员，一个球迷，我在这也很开心。无论何时人们在街上看到我我总是说，这里是我的家，我哪里也不去。”

厄齐尔已经在过去的三个比赛日里没有进大名单了，而在其中一场——10月3日欧联杯打败标准列日的赛后埃梅里表明其他人比这位世界杯冠军得主更值得进大名单。

A week later, the club’s head of football Raul Sanllehi suggested Ozil needed to apply more effort in training and “contribute 24-7” to earn a recall.

一周后，俱乐部的足球总监桑列伊建议厄齐尔需要更努力的训练并且终日全力以赴来争取进入名单。

“All I know is what has already been said,” Ozil concedes. “It’s disappointing, of course. But as a professional footballer, I have to respect the decision of the coach. Not being involved, watching from home, makes me feel helpless.

“我知道那些已经被说出口的话，”厄齐尔说，“当然这非常令人失望。但作为职业球员，我必须尊重教练的决定。不在球队当中，在家里看比赛，这都让我感觉非常无助”

“I want to be part of the side, I want to support my team-mates to succeed. I’m not training all the time just for the sake of it, I’m ready to play. This should not be about me or the coach, only the club. I have to give everything, be fit and focused, and I’m training hard to be ready.

“我想要成为名单中的一员。我想要帮助我的队友取胜。我每时每刻的训练不只是为了这一点，我准备好了。这不关乎我或者教练，而是因为俱乐部。我必须要付出一切，准备好并且专注，我努力训练去让自己准备好。”

“Pre-season went very well and although things were disrupted by the [moped] attack, since then I’ve been fully available and when the coach has selected me I’ve been ready, played and always tried to give my best.

“季前赛进展很顺利，尽管后来被黑帮袭击，但从那以后我总是一直能上场，当教练选择我的时候我已经准备好，去踢球，去一直尽力做到最好。”

“I’ve trained at the same level my whole career but because I’ve not had minutes recently, I’m doing extra work with the fitness coach and in the gym to get even fitter than normal. I know what is needed and believe in myself.”

“我的整个职业生涯的训练强度都是一样的，但最近我更忙了，我在和我的体能教练在室内器材室做额外的训练来让我变得比以前更强壮。我知道这是我所需要的，我也相信自己。”

Ozil’s mention of Emery is in reference to a reported breakdown in the pair’s relationship, but the player expresses no negative sentiment: “I’ve worked under some of the biggest coaches in the world — Arsene, Jose Mourinho, Joachim Low — and always I show respect. It’s the same for Unai.

厄齐尔提到埃梅里在报道中说道双方的关系破裂，但球员表示他没有任何负面情绪“我曾在很多世界级教练麾下效力，温格，穆里尼奥，约阿希姆洛，而我总是表现出尊敬，对埃梅里也一样。"

“We might not see eye-to-eye on everything but that’s normal, it’s life and it’s the same with my family and friends. You have to accept it and go forward.”

“我们可能不是在所有事上都能达成一致，但这很正常，这就是生活，这对于我的家庭和朋友也是一样。你必须接受它并继续前进。”

What if Emery, also contracted until 2021, never selects Ozil again?

但如果埃梅里的合同续约到21年，并且再也不选择厄齐尔呢？

“I don’t think that will happen. I will play. I believe in myself to do what he asks of me and I want to help the club to reach our goals.”

“我不觉得这事会发生，我会上场的。我相信我自己，去做他要求我做的，我也希望能帮助俱乐部达到我们的目标。”

Ozil has been the source of constant scrutiny, be it his performances since signing the new deal, his contribution in the so-called ‘big’ games, his body language on the field or his fitness record.

厄齐尔一直是争议批判的源头，无论是签下新合同后的表现，他在所谓“大赛”中的贡献，他在场上的肢体语言或者是他的健康记录。

He describes the notion that he may have downed tools after putting pen to paper on such lucrative terms as “ridiculous” and “total rubbish”.

他把那些说他在签下高薪合同后就消极怠工的言论描述为“可笑的”和“一派胡言”

“If that was true, why did I work so hard and positively during pre-season this year? And why, after the World Cup last year, did I return from holiday early for the first time in my career to start training three days before I was expected back? I did it for the new coach, the team and the club. Maybe people don’t like that I have a good contract? I don’t know or care.”

“如果这是事实，我又为何在今年的季前赛里如此努力，积极呢？为何在去年的世界杯之后，我生涯中首次提前归队，比我本该归队的时间提前三天开始训练呢？我做这些都是为了新的教练，为了球队，为了俱乐部。可能人们不喜欢我有一份好的合同？我不知道，也不在乎。”

厄齐尔在乎的是人们对他在高强度对抗中的挣扎和常常把缺席归咎于糟糕的健康状况的刻板印象。

“It always happens that an ex-player stands there on TV and criticises me,” he says. “Others just continue the theme and it gets in everyone’s heads.

“总是有俱乐部的前球员在电视上批评我”他说“其他人就随声附和让这种印象深入人心。”

“If we don’t do well in a ‘big’ game, it’s always my fault. If that’s true, how do you explain our results in the ‘big’ games when I wasn’t involved? There’s no real difference. I know people expect me to offer more, dictate play and make the difference — I do, too — but it’s not that straightforward.

“如果我们在“强强对话”中表现不佳，一定是我背锅。如果真的是这样，那我没上场的“强强对话”谁去背锅？根本就没有区别。我知道人们希望我奉献更多，献身足球并改变局势，我也是这样做的，但并没有那么直观。”

“I’m not the only player in the team and, don’t forget, some of our opponents are simply better than us. Also, what is a ‘big’ or ‘small’ game? In the Premier League, anyone can beat anyone. Look at Wolves and Norwich beating Man City, or Newcastle and West Ham beating Man United.

“我不是球队中唯一的球员，并且别忘了，我们有些对手就是比我们要强。并且，“强强对话”和“虐菜”到底是什么？在英超里，任何人都可能被任何人打败。看看狼队和诺维奇打败了曼城，或者纽卡斯尔和西汉姆打败了曼联。”

“So you can’t say my good performances only came in ‘small’ games because these games don’t really exist. The intensity is there in every match and often the ‘small’ teams raise their standard against the ‘big’ teams.

“所以你不能说我的优秀表现仅仅是在“虐菜”里，因为这样的比赛根本不存在。激烈的对抗存在于每一场比赛当中，并且常常“小球队”在对阵“大球队”的时候会超常发挥。”

“I also get really frustrated when I miss a game through illness and people question if it is genuine. Yes, it happened a few times — usually in the winter — but what am I supposed to do? If you knew me, you would know it takes a lot for me to miss a game and I have never used sickness as an excuse. Actually the opposite. I played many games when I was ill or had injuries. Before the Champions League game against Bayern Munich [in March 2017], I was sick and Arsene told me I was not in the squad because of that. The next morning, the guys from Arsenal called me and said, ‘Listen, you have to come to the stadium, you have to be in the squad’. Despite my illness, I joined the squad and played the last 20 minutes.

“当我因为生病而不能上场时我都很沮丧，而人们还在质疑这是不是真的。是的，这的确发生过几次，常常是在冬天的时候，但我该怎么办呢？如果你了解我，你就会知道错过一场比赛对我来说失去了太多，我也从未用生病作为借口。事实上是反过来，我带伤带病踢了很多比赛。在17年3月欧冠踢拜仁之前，我生病了所以温格告诉我我不在大名单中。第二早阿森纳的人的电话给我说：听着，你得来一趟球场，你得在大名单里。尽管我生病了，我还是在大名单里并且踢了最后二十分钟。”

“Most players don’t play when injured or sick — it influences your game, you can’t give everything — but I was always available unless it was impossible.”

“大部分球员在受伤或生病的时候不会上场，那会影响你的比赛，你不能发挥出全力，但我总是能上场的，除非不可能的情况。”

Ozil is similarly robust in defending the demeanour — head bowed, shoulders slumped, arms flailing — he regularly exudes if something is not to his liking.

厄齐尔同样强烈维护他的举止——低头，垂肩，摆手，如果事情不如意他常常做出这些动作。

“It’s my personality,” he counters. “People want to change me but, since the day I started playing football, I was always like this. If a game is not going well or I play a bad ball, of course I get frustrated because I know it can be better. It’s the same when I come off the pitch looking angry. I’m a perfectionist and sometimes I want too much perfection.

“这是我的个性”他反击道“人们想要改变我，但自从我开始踢球，我就一直是这样。如果一场比赛不顺利或者我踢得不好，当然我很沮丧因为我知道我能做的更好。当我下场时看起来很生气也是一样。我是个完美主义者而有时候我太过追求完美了。”

“It doesn’t take me long to get over — I’m not going around the pitch or sat on the bench pissed off for the next five minutes or anything. It’s just in that moment and then we continue. I realise afterwards it’s not good to show this, but it’s instinctive, so I don’t plan it and it’s not easy to change.

“我并没有花太长时间去放下这些事，过五分钟我就不会在球场周围或者在板凳上生气。只是那个时候生气，然后就过去了。我后来意识到表现出这些不太好，但这是下意识做出来的，所以我不是故意这样做，想要改变也不容易。”

“This is me. I’m the same person at Arsenal as I was at Schalke, Werder Bremen, Real Madrid and the German national team. People may want me to change but I’ve been successful everywhere and I never will.”

“这就是我。现在的我和我在沙尔克，不莱梅，皇马，德国国家队的时候一样。人们想要我改变，但我在何处都能成功所以我不会改变。”

Such an uncompromising, non-conformist mindset has become increasingly evident, not only in Ozil’s football career but his life outside the game, too. His decision to pose for photos with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the build-up to the 2018 World Cup in Russia caused huge controversy.

如此一个毫不妥协，桀骜不驯的想法逐渐表露出来，不仅是在厄齐尔的生涯当中，而且在他比赛之外的生活中也是一样。他决定上传和土耳其总统埃尔多安的合照，在18年俄罗斯世界杯中引发了巨大的争议。

Ozil was born in Germany — the country his grandparents emigrated to from Turkey — and earned 92 caps, won the World Cup and was voted their player of the year five times between 2011 and 2017.

厄齐尔出生在德国，他的祖父母从土耳其移民到那里。他在德国国家队出场92次，夺得世界杯并且在11-17年间5次获得年度最佳球员。

Amid the fallout from that meeting with Erdogan and Germany’s shock opening-round elimination from last year’s tournament, Ozil announced his international retirement via an extraordinarily explosive statement in which he said he was ‘a German when we win, but an immigrant when we lose’. Talking about that period for the first time, Ozil appears to have no regrets.

在和埃尔多安的会面之中产生的影响以及德国国家队去年惊人的在小组赛就出局，厄齐尔通过一个爆炸性的声明宣布了退出国家队。在其中他提到了当他们胜利的时候他是德国人，输球的时候他就是个外来移民。第一次谈及那段时期，厄齐尔表示毫不后悔。

“[Erdogan] is the current president of Turkey and I would show respect to that person, whoever it was,” argues the third-generation Turkish-German. “Although I was born and raised in Germany, Turkey is part of my heritage.

“埃尔多安是土耳其现在的总统，我会对土耳其的总统给予尊敬，不论那人是谁

”这个第三代土耳其裔德国人争辩道“尽管我生养在德国，但土耳其是我血统中的一部分。”

“If the German president or [Chancellor] Angela Merkel are in London and ask to see me, to speak to me, of course I would do that as well. It’s just about showing respect to the highest position of a country.”

“如果德国总统（总理）默克尔在伦敦并表示想要见我，和我聊聊，当然我也会照做。这只是对一个身处国家高位的人展现出的尊重。”

Describing himself as “really happy” to have moved on from the national team, Ozil adds: “With time to reflect, I know it was the right decision. It was a very difficult period for me as I played nine years for Germany and was one of their most successful players. I won the World Cup and more, played a lot of games — a lot of them really good — and gave everything.

他描述自己从国家队离开是一件“非常高兴”的事情。厄齐尔补充道“随着时间经过，我知道这是个正确的决定。那段时间对我来说非常艰难，因为我在德国效力了九年，我也是他们最成功的球员之一。我赢得了世界杯和更多的东西，踢了很多比赛，其中的很多都是非常棒的比赛，我奉献了一切。”

“I don’t say people must love me but just show respect about what I’ve done for Germany. The team was always competitive but they wanted to play a more attractive style, all age groups using the ball better. A bit like Spain. My generation changed German football. It became more fun to watch.

“我不是说人们必须爱我，只是要对我为德国所做的贡献展现出尊重。球队总是很有竞争力，但他们想要用更有吸引力的踢法，所有人都要更好的持球。有点像西班牙。我这一代人改变了德国足球，让它变得更好看了。”

“But after the photo, I felt disrespected and unprotected. I was receiving racist abuse — even from politicians and public figures — yet nobody from the national team came out at that time and said, ‘Hey, stop. This is our player, you can’t insult him like that’. Everyone just kept quiet and let it happen.

“但在那张照片以后，我感觉到不被尊重且失去保护。我遭到种族歧视，甚至是从政客和公众人物那里，但国家队那时候没有一个人站出来说“嘿，停一下，这是我们的球员，你不能像那样侮辱他。”每个人都只是保持沉默让事情发生。”

“It felt like I was expected to apologise for the meeting, admit I’d made a mistake and then everything would be fine; otherwise I was not welcome in the team and should leave. I would never do that. Racism has always been there, but people used this situation as an excuse to let it out. They are free to have a personal view, to dislike a photo I’ve taken. Just as I’m free to make a personal decision to have the photo taken. But what followed exposed their racism for everyone to see.

“就好像他们希望我为这次会面道歉，承认我犯了错误然后一切就能相安无事，不然我在球队中就不被欢迎，并应该走人。我绝不会那样做。种族主义一直在那，但人们把这当做借口来宣泄它。他们有发表个人观点的自由，不喜欢我的照片。同样我也有做出个人决定，拍下这个照片的自由。但后来发生的事情把他们的种族主义暴露了出来。”

“There are major problems in Germany — just look at what happened in Halle last week, another anti-semitic attack. Unfortunately, racism is no longer only a right-wing issue in the country. It has shifted into the middle of society.”

“德国有几个主要问题。看看上周在哈雷发生的事情吧，又是一起反犹太人的袭击。很不幸的，在这个国家里种族主义不再只是右翼的问题了。它变成了社会的中心。”

Specifically citing the World Cup, Ozil elaborates: “When we were knocked out and I came off the pitch, German people were telling me, ‘Go back to your country’, ‘Fuck yourself’, ‘Turkish pig’ and stuff like that.

特别引用到世界杯上说的，厄齐尔说“当我们被打败时我走下球场，德国人对我吼，滚回你自己的国家去，去NM的，土耳其猪，之类的话。”

“Before the tournament there was a friendly in Leverkusen and when the ball came to Ilkay Gundogan [who was also photographed with Erdogan], most of the stadium was booing him. I heard them shouting, ‘Goat fucker’, ‘Fucking Turkish boy’ and other insults that I can’t repeat.

“在世界杯之前有一场在勒沃库森的友谊赛，当球给到京多安（同样和埃尔多安合照）时，大部分球场里的人都在嘘他。我听到他们在吼叫“干羊佬”，“NM的土耳其男孩”以及其他我不能重复的侮辱。”

“Before the World Cup I was supposed to be the face of some commercial deals, but suddenly they cancelled everything and removed me from their campaigns. Some of my German charities dropped me as an ambassador and advised me to distance myself from the photo. But what upset me most was the reaction of the school I went to in Gelsenkirchen. I’ve always supported them and we decided to do a year-long programme together. At the end, I was going to attend a ceremony and meet all of the staff and children, many from immigrant backgrounds.

“在世界杯之前我本应是一些商业合作的牌面，但突然他们取消了一切并把我从他们的行程中移除了。有些我的德国慈善机构取消了我的大使头衔并建议我远离那张照片。但最让我恼火的还是我在盖尔森基兴上的学校。我总是帮助他们，我们也决定一起做一个为期一年的计划。最后，我要去参加一个仪式，去和所有的工作人员孩子们见面，他们很多人都有移民背景。” 

“Everything was planned. But then the school director told my team I should not come because of the media attention and the rise of the right-wing AfD party in their city. I couldn’t believe it. My home town, my school. I gave them my hand but they didn’t give theirs back. I’ve never felt so unwelcome.

“一切都计划好了。但然后学校校长告诉我的团队我不能去因为媒体的关注，以及他们城市右翼党派的兴起。我简直不能相信。我的家乡，我的学校。我帮助了他们，他们却不支持我。我从没感受过如此的不受欢迎。”

“After Russia, I went away to give myself space to make a clear decision. I talked to those I’m closest to. But in keeping with all of my decisions, I had to follow my heart and decided, ‘It’s time to go, time to move on’.

“在俄罗斯之后，我离开了，让我自己有点空间来做出明确的决定。我和我亲近的人谈话。但我所做出的所有决定，都跟随自己的内心然后决定，是时候离开了，是时候前进了。”

“I didn’t need to do any of this and things could have been easier for me if I hadn’t, but I’m strong enough to stand by my beliefs and decisions. I’m not an opportunist. No career chance or fame will change that. I still have strong links to Germany, I still have a marketing company there which means I employ people and pay millions of Euros in tax. I could have moved my interests elsewhere, but I wanted to give back and I continue to.

“我本来不需要做任何这些事情，而且如果我不做的话事情会轻松很多。但我足够坚强去坚持我自己的信念和决定。我不是个投机分子。没有任何职业机会或者名声能改变这一点。我仍然和德国有紧密关联，我仍然在那有营销公司，这意味着我雇佣人们并上交数百万欧元的税款。我本可以把这些财产转移到任何地方，但我还想要回馈社会，所以我继续下去。”

“I’m proud to still work with one charity, who provide operations for children worldwide, and they stood by me. But the national team chapter is over.”

“我很自豪能仍然和一家慈善机构合作，它给全世界的孩子提供手术，而他们支持我。但国家队的故事已经完结了。”

A year on from that photograph, Ozil was back in the spotlight for different reasons when — with the 2019-20 season fast approaching — he, his wife Amine and Arsenal team-mate Sead Kolasinac fell victim to an attempted carjacking in London.

照片事件一年后，厄齐尔又因为各种原因来到了聚光灯下，随着19/20赛季的快速逼近，他，他的妻子和阿森纳的队友科拉希纳茨在伦敦遭遇了歹徒的袭击。

“I drove from my house to Sead’s,” Ozil recalls. “He was outside and we spoke. My wife was sitting next to me. Then these guys came. We were looking at each other for 10-15 seconds. We were thinking maybe they want to take a picture or something — that’s happened before. Then we noticed that they had a weapon and something was going wrong. They obviously saw the big car and because Sead had just handed me something, they must have noticed he was wearing an expensive watch.

“我开车从我家去胖虎家”厄齐尔回忆道，“他在门外，我们在聊天。我妻子坐在我旁边。然后这帮家伙就来了。我们互相对视了有10-15秒。我们在想他们大概想要个合照之类的，这种事之前也有过。然后我们注意到他们有武器，事情不太对劲。他们显然看到了这台车，而且因为胖虎刚给了我什么东西，他们一定注意到了他戴着一个很贵的表。”

“他们直接告诉他，把你的表给我！胖虎表现的非常，非常英勇因为他攻击了其中一个歹徒。第二个歹徒坐在他的摩托上挡在我车前，所以我不能开走”

“We were newly wed and I was scared about my wife. I was scared about Sead. I wasn’t thinking about myself. I was worried they were going to open my wife’s door and they tried, so I reached across her to keep it closed.

“我们新婚不久，我很担心我的妻子。我担心胖虎。我没在考虑我自己。我担心他们会打开我妻子的门，他们也试了这样做。所以我越过她把门拉住。”

“I saw one chance to drive. If they got to my wife, something terrible might have happened to her. It was going so quickly that you can’t think properly. I drove a little bit forwards and backwards to try and get the moped away. I told Sead, “Jump in! Jump in!” and thankfully he did. The second guy tried again to get in. Sead closed the door and I made a U-turn. There was a construction site there and they took bricks and stones to throw at us.

“我看到了一个开走的好机会。如果他们抓住了我的妻子，糟糕的事情就会发生在她身上。事情发生的如此迅速，你没有时间去认真考虑。我试着往前再往后开了一点，想要把摩托挤开。我告诉胖虎，跳进来！跳进来！谢天谢地他做到了。第二个家伙又想着要进来。胖虎关上了门，我直接掉头。那里有个施工点，他们拿石头和砖块来砸我们。”

“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.

“我开始开车但他们仍跟着我们。我开的很快，但他们骑着摩托慢慢追上来了。我试着开车去挡住他们然后逃跑，但每次他们都能跟上来。我的妻子非常害怕。”

“Nothing happened to us, that’s the most important thing. We were worried these guys had been targeting us, but the police said they found them and a few hours earlier, they tried to rob other people nearby in a similar way.”

“我们安然无恙，这是最重要的。我们担心这些人一直把我们当目标，但警察说他们在几个小时前找到了他们，他们在试着用同样的方式抢劫附近的其他人。”

Although all three escaped without physical harm, damage was done. “My wife wanted to get away immediately,” Ozil admits. “She didn’t feel safe. Even if I let our dogs into the garden and went out with them she would say, ‘Come in, come in, stay in the house!’ She was very concerned.

尽管这三个人身体无恙的逃脱了，但仍然造成了伤害。“我的妻子马上想要离开”厄齐尔坦言：“她感觉不安全。就连我把我们的狗放到花园里，然后去和它们玩，她都会说，进来进来，进房子里！她真的非常担忧”

“Something like this has never happened to us before. She told me — and Sead’s wife told him — let’s go back to our families, to be safe and let everything calm down. It was a bad couple of weeks but never made me want to leave London permanently. Now, even for my wife, everything is OK.

“这样的事我们从来没有经历过。她跟我说，胖虎的妻子也跟他说，回家去吧，这样安全，让一切安定下来。那几周过的很糟糕，但从未让我想过要永远的离开伦敦。现在，即使是我的妻子，一切也好了起来。”

“I returned to training and my football was fine, but my mind was always at home with my wife. She was alone in our house and you never know what happens. So I was thinking, ‘OK, just train and go back to your wife.’”

“我回归了训练，我踢球也没有问题。但我的脑子总是和家里的妻子在一起。她一个人在家，你永远不知道会发生什么。所以我在想，好吧，训练完就回家去找她。”

这让我们回到了最初的话题。在阿森纳周一晚上前往谢菲尔德之前，厄齐尔希望他能将这些问题置之脑后，并重新找回他的魔力。

“I had some tough times when I was younger and that helps me in periods like this because I’m mentally so strong and can deal with it,” 

“我年轻的时候也经历过艰辛，那对现在的我有所帮助。因为我精神上足够坚强来面对这一切。”他总结道。

“I have the support of my family and friends, and also whenever I don’t play or things are not great, look at how the Arsenal fans react. They make me feel amazing. When I go out in the street, when I’m at the stadium, when I look on social media or in my post at home, the supporters tell me, ‘We’re all behind you’, ‘You’re one of us’, ‘Keep strong’, ‘You’ll get your chance’.

“我有家人和朋友的支持，并且无论何时我不踢球或者事情不如意，看看阿森纳球迷是如何反应的。他们让我感觉棒极了。当我走到街上，当我在球场里，当我看社交媒体或者在家里看我发的推特，支持者都告诉我，我们都是你的后盾，你是我们的一员，保持坚强，你会得到机会的。”

“I’m very thankful. It keeps me happy, focused and patient to wait for my chance. I remember in 2014 when I hurt my knee — the first bad injury of my career — the fans never stopped supporting me. Even the songs they wrote, I’ve not had that anywhere else and that backing is important to me.

“我真的非常感激，这让我开心，专注，并耐心的等待我的机会。我记得在14年我膝盖受伤的时候，我职业生涯中第一次重伤，粉丝们从未停止过支持我。还有他们为我写的歌，我在别的地方从未有过，这些支持对我来说非常重要。”

“I have faith in myself and I know my quality, as do the club and my team-mates. This is the reason why, for nearly 14 years, I’ve been in football and at a high level. If and when I get the opportunity, I will show it again.”

“我对自己有信心，我也知道我的能力如何，俱乐部和我的队友都清楚。这就是为什么，在将近14年的时间里，我都一直踢高水平的足球。如果能给我机会，我就会再次展现出我的能力。”

翻译：AmaneSuzuha