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Former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Frimpong has revealed all about his bitter feud with “bully” Samir Nasri.
The pair were team-mates at the Gunners for one full season in 2011 before Nasri angered supporters by opting to join league rivals Manchester City.
2011 saw Frimpong break into the Arsenal first-team as a youngster. The Ghanaian started alongside Nasri, but saw red during a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Premier League.
Samir Nasri left Arsenal for Man City
According to the The Sun, Frimpong admitted his relationship with his ex-team-mate broke down after Nasri “stood up in front of everybody and said we lost the game because of me.”
He said: “I have always had so much respect for senior players,” Frimpong said. “You can ask Aaron Ramsey, you can ask Jack Wilshere. I never disrespected anybody.
“But for me, the truth is I’ve never liked Nasri and I will never, ever like this guy. Even if he gives me five billion dollars, I will still not like him.”
Speaking frankly on the events after the Liverpool defeat, he added: “After the game, everybody came into the changing room and Arsene (Wenger) was quiet, you know. Obviously, he was disappointed about the result but he was quiet. He didn’t talk, and then Nasri basically stood up in front of everybody and said we lost the game because of me.
“OK, I can understand that, but I was thinking, ‘Why would somebody —especially me playing, I think that was like my second game — why would any professional do that to a young player in that kind of moment?’”
Nasri and Frimpong during the League Cup tie in 2011
Things really came to head during a 2011 Carling Cup tie, after which the pair faced off post-game and were separated by respective teammates.
“During the game, he told me he could buy me,” said Frimpong. “That’s how stupid this guy is. He probably could then because he had millions, but that’s no respect.”
“I feel like he was a bully,” he added. “I feel like he didn’t know his responsibilities as a senior player to be able to help younger players.
Frimpong has now retired from football but made 16 senior appearances for the Gunners between 2011-2013, becoming something of a fans’ favourite due to his entertaining presence on social media.
