Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has said he is “fortunate to be alive” after surviving an attack on the Borussia Dortmund team bus in 2017.
Hidden bombs containing metal pins exploded as the bus passed a hedge on the way to a Champions League quarter-final match. Dortmund defender Marc Bartra underwent wrist surgery, and a police officer was also treated for injuries.
Seat change saved his life
Merino revealed he could have suffered a fatal injury, as he normally sat next to Bartra. He explained that he changed seats on the day of the attack because his legs felt tight.
“I think I have an angel on my shoulder,” he told The Players' Tribune. “I’m actually fortunate to be alive at all. I was 20 and playing for Dortmund when three pipe bombs went off right next to our bus on the way to a Champions League match.”
Aftermath of the attack
“A lot of young people probably would not even believe that it happened, or how bad it was, but it marked us all. There was a deafening noise, and then I remember the bus nearly tipping over.”
“I looked behind me and saw blood on the floor. Smoke, screams. I remember being at the hospital later that night, waiting for Marc Bartra, who had his wrist badly cut up. The next day, someone told me that a huge piece of shrapnel was lodged in the headrest of the seat next to Marc. My usual seat.”
“That day, the seat was empty. My legs were feeling a bit tight, and the seats in the front reclined. So I sat up there instead, and it may have saved my life. So yeah, I just have this belief that things happen for a reason.”
