'Horrible experience': England ace Alli held at KNIFEPOINT as he becomes latest footballing victim of violent crime in London

England and Tottenham star Dele Alli has reassured fans he is "okay" after being held at knifepoint in a robbery at his $2.5 million London home, making him the latest high-profile victim of violent crime in the UK capital.

Alli, 24, was reportedly playing pool with his brother and girlfriend - model Ruby Mae - when two armed intruders forced their way in through the back door of the property in Hadley Wood in the early hours of Wednesday morning. 

Alli was punched in the face during the robbery, which saw the two men leave with watches and jewelry belonging to the footballer and his partner Mae.

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The Spurs man took to Twitter on Wednesday to reassure fans he was "okay," but described rthe experience as "horrible."

“Thank you for all the messages. Horrible experience but we’re all okay now. Appreciate the support,” the forward wrote.

In suffering the harrowing home ordeal, the England international becomes latest football star to be targeted in the UK capital.

In July of last year, Arsenal pair Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac were ambushed by armed moped attackers when driving through the city in Ozil's Mercedes, leading to Kolasinac stepping out of the vehicle and bravely fighting off the assailants.

On that occasion, both Ozil and Kolasinac continued to suffer the aftereffects of the incident and were forced to miss several Premier League games for the Gunners. 

READ MORE: 'Career criminal' jailed for 10 years for attempting to rob Arsenal stars Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac 

Not long afterwards it was also revealed that a masked machete gang had raided the $4.5 million London home of former Tottenham and Liverpool star Ronnie Rosenthal, making off with a collection of valuable watches.   

In March of this year, the family of Alli's Belgian teammate Jan Vertonghen were held at knifepoint by men in balaclavas at their London home while the defender was away on Champions League duty with Spurs.  

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The high-profile cases have fueled fears that knife crime in London is spiraling out of control, with the Office for National Statistics reporting that a record 15,080 knife offenses were recorded during the 12 months to the end of last September.

Like his fellow professionals, Alli has largely been restricted to lockdown in recent weeks as the coronavirus has put sport on hold. 

The attacker has frequently shared videos of life in self-isolation at the swanky London home targeted in this week's robbery, including when he recently turned 24.

Alli and his Tottenham teammates resumed restricted training at the end of April as the Premier League targets a potential June restart. The player's robbery ordeal is not expected to disrupt his plans to return to action for Jose Mourinho's team.