EPL News: William Gallas adds to the war of words with Samir Nasri as Johnson reveals talks with Hodgson
After Tottenham won their latest league match against Arsenal by three goals to two, William Gallas has come out and added another twist to the ongoing war of words with the Arsenal’s midfielder Samir Nasri. Before the match took place
Nasri came out and revealed that during Gallas’s time at Arsenal, Nasri and his compatriot never spoke to each other due to a fight that they had on one of their trips for the French national team.
Gallas and Nasri had a faceoff when Nasri sat in Thierry Henry’s seat during one of the international matches for the French national team in the EURO 2008 competition. Gallas had blamed Nasri back then as he had occupied Henry’s seat
and the defender saw this gesture as disrespect to Henry, who was a senior player in the side back then. When Arsenal and Tottenham played each other at the weekend, Nasri snubbed Gallas as the Frenchman didn’t shake his hands with his ex-team mate.
Gallas played the gesture down as he said, "Yes, Nasri snubbed me but I think that he's still young, you have to understand him. It's a shame that he reacted this way. Yes, let's just say it's a shame for him." It was expected that William
would get a hostile welcome from Arsenal’s fans as Tottenham and Arsenal are seen as arch rivals in the North London area. In the summer transfer window of 2010, Gallas switched clubs from Arsenal to Tottenham after the Gunners failed to offer him a new contract
at the Emirates Stadium.
The French defender spoke about the reception that he received at the Emirates stadium when Tottenham played Arsenal on Saturday, he stated, "I knew it would be like this. But when you are a professional player you should expect this kind
of reception. I actually found that the fans were kind to me, considering I played four years there."
Alternatively, Nasri also came out after the match and responded to Gallas’s comments in the media. The midfielder said, "There are always ups and downs in life but I have a lot of respect for the way a player stays loyal to his club.
I cannot see myself going and joining the sworn enemy. There are loads of other clubs, other clubs in London. But going to Tottenham? No I cannot see it at all.”
In other news, Glen Johnson has now cleared up his situation at Liverpool after Roy Hodgson, the club’s manager had come out a couple of weeks ago and stated that the right back was not performing to the best of his abilities for the Reds.
Johnson said, "Believe me, no-one wants me to find my best form more than me, and I was aware of what I had to do. It was a little reminder from the boss, he told me that was what he meant by it. We spoke, and he explained he wanted it
to help me, to push me and I said to him then, I don't need people to tell me, I know where I'm at in terms of form, and I knew it all already. The gaffer told me he has faith in my ability, we spoke and we cleared things up. Sometimes comments like that can
be made to look more negative than they are meant.”
He added, "The boss explained that he didn't mean it in a negative way, just that he knew I had more to offer than I was showing, and wanted to get that from me. No player wants to be injured, and it has been frustrating to me, to be out
for so long. But that was more like it for me on Saturday. I think it has been a difficult season for me, but it has been a difficult season for a lot of teams and a lot of players.”
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