Nasri's Arsenal return turns sour

Arsenal fans hold up a banner berating former players Clichy and Nasri prior to the Carling Cup quarter-final against Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday in London, England. (GETTY)

Published Wednesday, November 30, 2011

By Staff

Manchester City's first win at the Emirates Stadium in 36 years was marred by a furious post-match bust-up between former Arsenal team mates Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Frimpong.

Tensions have simmered between the pair ever since Nasri's £22 million switch to the Etihad Stadium in August.

Back then, Frimpong implied Nasri had been greedy in defecting for the £180,000-a-week pay packet on offer at City.

The Ghana midfielder tweeted at the time: "Money is the root of all evil."

On Tuesday night, their row spilled off the pitch and into the tunnel.

But an Arsenal spokesman insisted there was no violence.

He said: "Words were exchanged. That was that. There were no punches thrown, but there was a lot of noise.

"Sami was speaking in French, Manny wasn't. But they didn't even touch. It was handbags."

Nasri was at the receiving end of a hostile reception from angry Arsenal fans who were barracking him throughout the match.

This was despite manager Arsene Wenger urging the Gunners faithful before the match to show respect to a former player.

Arsenal fans have not forgiven the Frenchman for branding them "disrespectful" after they voiced their frustrations at him leaving for City.

City boss Roberto Mancini added to Nasri's misery by saying that the midfielder needs to show improvement and has yet to play to his potential.

"I think Nasri can play better. I think he has yet to find his best form and can improve a lot. It was the same for the other players that arrived last year. For Edin (Dzeko) and David (Silva) for two months they had a problem.

"When you arrive in a new team, sometimes it takes time to settle in. He can improve a lot because he is a champion."

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