Former Arsenal footballer joins Jihadi fighters-Osama was also an Arsenal fan.

A former Arsenal star is
thought to have joined a band of
ruthless Jihadi fighters waging war in
Syria.
The gun-toting fanatic is said to have
grown up playing with Real Madrid
galactico Cristiano Ronaldo.
The militia man turned his back on a
footballer's playboy lifestyle after
becoming radicalised two years ago, it
is claimed
He is filmed wielding an AK47 and
proclaiming holy war in two terror
videos on an extremist website.
Fellow jihadists say the fighter - who
now calls himself Abu Issa Al-Andalusi
- was brought up in Portugal before
signing for the Gunners.
In the footage he appears in a mask
calling on Muslims to join the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) - an al-
Qaeda off-shoot group behind
murders and beheadings.
The faction has been blamed for
extreme violence against other
Islamist groups, Kurds and Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal
regime.
The fanatic says: “It’s very important
for you to protect your children from
these animals, from these dirty
people; Allah says they are the worst
of creatures.”
One of the videos acts as a recruiting
call for supporters in the Ukraine.
The ex-Premier League footballer says
“we are in need of all kinds of help in
fighting the enemy”.
He boasts: “We have conquered many
cities and we are now implementing
the sharia. We have areas where the
kaffirs [non-Muslims] are paying us
the tax.”
The man is introduced in a subtitle by
his new name. He appears to be in his
late 20s as he speaks calmly on a
bridge in front of a serene lake.
But his words, spoken in English in a
heavy Portuguese or southern
European accent, contain a message
of hatred far removed from the world
of sport.
He says: “If you have family in these
[western] countries what is going to
happen probably.
“You don’t have control over your
children. Maybe in some of countries
it’s a must for you to put your children
in the kaffir schools.

The Middle East Media Research
Institute, which works with the US
government on counter-terrorism,
gave weight to the credibility of the
website.
A spokesman said: “It has been active
for a couple of years now, bringing
reports about the activities of jihadi
groups in Syria to Russian speakers.
“At least some of the people behind
the site are in Syria themselves.
“The site regularly brings videos from
the field showing video messages and
talks of jihad fighters, news reports,
scenes and footage of combat, and
general jihadi material.
“The site clearly supports the Islamic
State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).”
A spokesman for the Syrian
Observatory of Human Rights said:
“There are thousands of foreign
fighters in Syria from all over the
world.
“But at present there is no information
about a footballer who played for
Arsenal.”
Another former professional
footballer, Nizar Trabelsi, who had
played in Germany for Fortuna
Dusseldorf, was lined up for terror
attacks after joining al-Qaeda.
The Tunisian was caught and jailed for
10 years before he could carry out the
plots, including an attack on the US
Embassy in Paris.
The ranks of ISIS also included
Londoner Abu Suleiman al-Britani,
who rammed a truck into a Syrian
prison to allow hundreds of prisoners
to escape.
Arsenal have launched an investigation
into the claims.
A spokesman said: “We do not
recognise the individual from the
published clips and we don’t have any
record of a Abu Isa al-Andalusi
representing the club at any level.”
Fanatical football
Osama bin Laden was an Arsenal fan
during his time living in London.
Fans even used to chant: “Osama,
woah-woah, Osama, woah-waoh, he’s
hiding in Kabul, he loves the Arsenul”.