Two Arsenal players had a disagreement that involved Thierry Henry
A former Arsenal player was accused of disrespecting his France team-mate Thierry Henry(Image: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
Former Arsenal team-mates William Gallas and Samir Nasri had a bitter falling out after the latter was accused of disrespecting Thierry Henry. Gallas and Nasri were together at Arsenal for two seasons, between 2008 and 2010.
Despite representing both club and country together, that era was characterised more by their infamous feud than their on-pitch chemistry. Their sour relationship stemmed from an incident during Euro 2008 while both players, along with Henry, were representing France.
Gallas in November 2008 published his autobiography, La Parole est a la Defense (Speaking in Defense), which severed his ties with Arsene Wenger and the remainder of the Gunners squad.
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One bombshell revelation he shared in the book detailed his clash with an unnamed young French player, which quickly emerged had been Nasri, from the previous summer. Gallas hit out at the midfielder for taking Henry’s seat on the team coach and refusing to get up.
The veteran defender interpreted it as a mark of disrespect towards a senior figure in the France setup and described Nasri’s conduct as “insolent” and “cheeky”. The confrontation created a hostile atmosphere even prior to the book’s publication as Arsenal signed Nasri that same summer from Marseille.
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Later offering his version of events, Nasri explained: “Thierry was absent with a back injury and I sat in his seat on the French bus. When he came back he said ‘Can you get up?’
“But he said it in a certain way. So to wind him up I answered ‘Well, respect works both ways’. He then asked if I could stand up, I did and we laughed about it and watched a DVD together.”
Unlike Henry, Gallas, who subsequently joined bitter rivals Tottenham, seemed to harbour resentment, judging by the account given in his book. However, the Frenchman insisted his relationship with Nasri actually deteriorated following an argument during a Champions League fixture for Arsenal in 2009, after which his younger compatriot admitted they didn’t speak for a year.
He recalled in 2012: “Before the book came out, I even talked with him. We took a walk at Clairefontaine and I told him I was going to talk about the affair on the bus without naming him and he had no objections.
“But then we had a game in Rome, with Arsenal, where he lost a ball. I showed my disappointment but nothing more and he called me all sorts of names on the pitch.
“We had a serious disagreement in the dressing room at the end of the game. I put him back in his place and told him he was not at Marseille any more!”
After Gallas had moved to Spurs, Nasri famously declined to shake his hand before a match. The pair’s back-and-forth war of words in the media hasn’t completely subsided in recent years despite both having retired.
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