Mesut Ozil was among 13 Arsenal players to attend NBA London on Thursday evening, though was seemingly the only one sitting alongside club director Josh Kroenke.
The NBA descended on England’s capital in its annual regular-season game, as the Indiana Pacers faced the Denver Nuggets.
Arsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke is also owner of the Nuggets, who breezed to a 140-112 victory at the O2 Arena, though was not pictured at the match.
Instead, his son was in attendance, with Josh Kroenke being the current president of the mile-high basketball team.
The Kroenke family have been heavily criticised for their hands-off approach to running the north London giants, having openly admitted to on-pitch success being a secondary aim, as with their four US sports ventures.
Josh Kroenke, who joined the Arsenal boardroom in late 2013, intriguingly chose to not only gift Ozil with court-side seats for the win over the Pacers, but also sit next to the German superstar.
Ozil wrote on Instagram: “Thanks for your invitation, Josh! My second favourite sport. Enjoying the NBA London match, Nuggets vs. Pacers!”
The playmaker is currently in negotiations with the Gunners over a new contract, though this week admitted that his future will only be decided once manager Arsene Wenger has made a decision on his own deal.
Thanks for your invitation, Josh! My 2nd favourite sport: 🏀🙌🏀 Enjoying the #NBALondon match @nuggets vs. @Pacers! 👍😉 #basketball #NBA pic.twitter.com/9atEV1mBBt
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) January 12, 2017
Meanwhile, a row further back and on the right of Ozil’s photo is compatriot Shkodran Mustafi, who was joined by no fewer than 11 other Arsenal teammates at the O2.
Among them were Alexis Sanchez, Alex Iwobi, Lucas Perez, Hector Bellerin and Nacho Monreal, though the Gunners’ squad was split into numerous sections.
Many other London-based players were in attendance too, such as Pedro, Asmir Begovic, Dele Alli, Darren Randolph and Adrian. Fresh from his side’s 1-0 win over Liverpool was Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk, who made the trip north, too.
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