Arsenal trio Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Carl Jenkinson and Kieran Gibbs appear to have a career in the cockpit lined up when they retire – after successfully landing an Emirates aeroplane.
The Gunners stars are all used to challenges in the air, but instead of a crucial header, they were charged with bringing down the airliner in a simulator at Dubai International Airport.
The controls mimic those of a £250million A380 plane that can carry over 850 passengers, and after just the briefest of training, they got into the cockpit.
Winger Oxlade-Chamberlain proved to be natural, landing the plane brilliantly first time, before a nervous Gibbs repeated the feat.
England international Jenkinson also managed to land the flight, but only after shuddering it on to the tarmac at speed, making it a rather uncomfortable entry onto the runway.
Still, Emirates’ chief instructor Warren Coles was still impressed, telling them: ‘You all did really well – a little bit of confusion between the controls initially, but you got it at the end. You might have blown the tyres slightly but overall I was pretty impressed for a first go.’
Perhaps Arsene Wenger will look to save a few quid by getting one of the players to fly the team to their next match…
