Arsenal midfielder Mikel Merino has revealed how a last-minute change of seat may have saved his life when Borussia Dortmund's team bus was targeted in a terrifying bomb attack.
Three pipe bombs exploded beside the vehicle as the German club travelled to face Monaco in a Champions League quarter-final in 2017.
Defender Marc Bartra suffered a serious wrist injury, while a police officer was also hurt in an attack that stunned football.
Merino, who was 20 at the time, has now recalled his escape in an account for The Players' Tribune.
The Spain international explained that he abandoned his usual spot beside Bartra because his legs felt tight and he wanted to use the reclining seats further forward.
It was a seemingly minor decision with potentially life-changing consequences.
Only afterwards did Merino discover that a large fragment of shrapnel had struck the headrest where he would normally have been sitting.
"I think I have an angel on my shoulder," he said. "I'm actually fortunate to be alive at all."
His account captures the confusion inside the bus as the explosions shattered what should have been a routine journey to the stadium.
"There was a deafening noise, and then I remember the bus nearly tipping over. I looked behind me and saw blood on the floor," he continued.
"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.
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"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."
The devices had been concealed in roadside hedges and were detonated at approximately 7.15pm local time.
Packed with metal pins, the bombs turned Dortmund's journey into an emergency, with Bartra requiring hospital treatment.
Attacker Sergej Wenergold was subsequently sentenced to 14 years in prison.
During his trial, he claimed he had wanted to profit from a fall in Dortmund's share price rather than kill players.
The aftermath also sparked anger over the decision to stage the postponed Monaco fixture the following day.
Thomas Tuchel, Dortmund's manager at the time, described that decision as "absurd" and said his squad had not been consulted.
"We were informed by text message that UEFA was making this decision," he said.
"A decision made in Switzerland that concerns us directly. We will not forget it. It is a very bad feeling.
"There is a feeling of helplessness. What we think has not interested anyone.
"We weren't asked about playing the game."
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