An Arsenal Invincible has revealed he was involved in a training ground fight with Robin van Persie after quickly becoming irritated with the striker.
Van Persie spent eight years at the club after joining from Feyenoord in 2004 and helped them to win the FA Cup before leaving for Manchester United in 2012.
He scored 132 goals during his 278 appearances but angered supporters after controversially declining to sign a new contract and moving to United, where he tasted Premier League glory in his first season under Sir Alex Ferguson.
The frontman also stirred tensions among his team-mates, according to Jeremie Aliadiere, who played 10 games during Arsenal’s historic Invincibles campaign.
Aliadiere trained alongside a number of world-class players, with Van Persie included among them. However, the duo did not get off to the best start, leading to a melee during the Dutchman’s very first training session at the club.
Speaking on the From My Left podcast, Aliadiere said: ‘I didn’t particularly like the guy. Me and him had a fight on the first day. I was number 30, which has always been my number. That year, number 11, Sylvain Wiltord’s left, so I’m thinking I fancy the 11.
An Arsenal Invincible revealed he fought with Robin van Persie during a training session
Van Persie joined Arsenal in 2004 but his antics during a drill quickly irritated a team-mate
The striker spent eight years at the club before leaving for Manchester United in 2012
‘Over the summer I’m thinking I’m changing number when pre-season starts. Well, pre-season starts, I’ve still got 30 and Robin comes in and takes 11.
‘We started training, first day, I get the ball, protect the ball. He starts kicking my shin.
‘Out of nowhere, just kicking my Achilles. I was already fuming with him because he took my number. I turned round and pushed him.’
Despite the training ground scuffle, the duo were eventually able to patch up their differences with Aliadiere admitting they later became friends.
Aliadiere joined Arsenal as a 16-year-old from Clairefontaine in 1999 and made 51 appearances under Arsene Wenger, scoring nine goals.
He departed in 2007, joining Middlesbrough for an initial fee of £2million.
Bizarrely, Aliadiere believes Arsenal’s move to the Emirates from Highbury in 2006 was the main reason why they stopped winning trophies.
‘I personally believe moving to the Emirates was the big, big factor,’ he told The Mirror. ‘Financially, the club obviously had to sacrifice buying players and building the squad by choosing to go to a bigger stadium to get more revenue.
He won the FA Cup and played alongside a host of Gunners legends, including Thierry Henry
Aliadiere made 51 appearances under Arsene Wenger and scored nine goals before moving on
‘That’s what I think happened. We moved and I remember Arsene saying that “we’re going to be quite tight over ten years financially to repay the stadium”.
‘So yeah, we still wanted to challenge for the Premier League but Man United and Chelsea managed to spend more money on already-made players.
‘Whereas we were younger players, still having a bit of experience but not the experience of the players Chelsea were buying at the time when Jose Mourinho arrived and all the money that they could spend.
‘We were financially restricted with the stadium, which played a part in Arsene Wenger not being able to buy more senior experienced players I feel, because we lost some important players, all those big names.
‘All the senior players were at the end of their Arsenal careers and I think the young boys that were coming – us – were good enough and talented enough but maybe not experienced enough to win the Premier League.’
