Arsenal news: Club to ‘remind players of their responsibilities’ after nitrous oxide video surfaces

Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Matteo Guendouzi were all pictured at the pre-season party

A number of players were shown inhaling nitrous oxide (The Sun)

Arsenal have said they will “remind players of their responsibilities” after a video emerged which showed several of their players inhaling nitrous oxide in a London nightclub.

Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Matteo Guendouzi were all pictured at the pre-season party, in CCTV footage published by The Sun.

Other players shown in the video, including first-team regular Henrik Mkhitaryan, can be seen rejecting the offer to inhale the gas.

A club spokesperson said: “The players will be spoken to about this and reminded of their responsibilities as representatives of the club.”

Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas or ‘hippy crack’, is popular with partygoers and can cause feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calmness, as well as fits of giggles and laughter.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil were pictured in the video (Arsenal FC via Getty)

However, doctors have warned nitrous oxide slows down the brain and can cause headaches and short-lived but intense feelings of paranoia. In the UK, it is illegal to sell the gas for recreational purposes, and the substance was recorded as the cause of 17 deaths between 2006 and 2012.

This is not the first time footballers have come under fire for inhaling the gas.

In 2015, Raheem Sterling was warned by Liverpool after taking nitrous oxide prior to his £44m move to Manchester City.

In the same year, Jack Grealish was warned using nitrous oxide “would not be tolerated” by former Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood, while Saido Berahino was reprimanded by West Brom for a similar incident in 2014.

Kyle Walker was also reprimanded by Tottenham Hotspur after he was pictured with the substance in 2013. “I won't be doing this again,” he wrote on Twitter. “And I hope that no one else is influenced into putting their health at risk by my actions.”