Almost ten years on: Arsenal star Merino reflects on 2017 Dortmund bus attack

Exactly ten years ago, a chilling attack shook the Borussia Dortmund team bus en route to play AS Monaco. Former player and current Arsenal FC star Mikel Merino recalls the harrowing moments vividly. "A deafening bang pierced the air, and the bus seemed on the brink of tipping over," he recounted to The Players Tribune. Blood stained the ground, and the screams of passengers echoed in his memory.

Merino himself was fortunate to walk away unscathed, though he discovered a piece of shrapnel lodged in the headrest beside Marc Bartra's seat. That very seat, he had opted for a more spacious spot forward on the bus. The ordeal left him with a lingering stiffness in his legs, but he believes a seat change may have saved his life.

Weeks after the attack, the perpetrator, Sergej W., was identified, charged with 28 counts of attempted murder, and sentenced to 14 years in prison. The explosives detonator had been set off due to a wager on Borussia Dortmund's share price dropping.