Arsenal icon who got banned from training ground admits club were right

This ex-Arsenal striker angered his former club after making comments during an infamous draw with Manchester United and ended up with a training ground ban

Arsenal legend and Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith found himself banned from speaking to players at his former club's training ground over criticism during an encounter with Manchester United.

Smith netted 115 times in 347 outings for the north London outfit. The 63-year-old moved into broadcasting and journalism following his retirement in 1995, quickly establishing himself as a Sky regular. His distinctive voice has become synonymous with football coverage, enhanced by his contributions to the FIFA gaming franchise.

However, in 2003, he faced the challenging task of balancing former allegiances with professional obligations when called upon to commentate on his ex-club's notorious clash with their Old Trafford rivals. The stalemate later earned the moniker 'Battle of Old Trafford', featuring Patrick Vieira's dismissal and Ruud van Nistelrooy's crucial penalty miss as defining moments.

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Following the final whistle, a melee erupted involving former Arsenal centre-back Martin Keown. Smith acknowledges his post-match assessment was harsh on the Gunners, prompting the club and its squad to cancel his regular monthly training ground visits for player interviews.

"It was Man United vs Arsenal at Old Trafford, the old Martin Keown jumping up and landing on Van Nistelrooy," Smith reflected, speaking on In The Mixer, brought to you by Sky Bet.

"So I actually went up there to write but then they asked me to go into the studio and do the match because Alan Shearer should have been doing it but he got ill. I filled in for him.

"It was 0-0, a terrible game, then it all kicked off at the end. I said, 'I think Arsenal have overstepped the mark here. I think they're a bit out of order, Martin Keown and that.'

"Then I went downstairs and wrote a similar column. None of it went down well with Arsenal. The fact that I'd criticised them. At the time I was writing a monthly column, it was an interview with an Arsenal player.

"So I was going into the training ground. When it came to doing my next one, the phone hadn't rung. I thought, 'That's funny. They're not ringing.' So I rang the editor.

"I said, 'Do you know what's happening?' He went, 'Oh, Alan, no, they don't want you to come in anymore. They feel you can't be slagging them off and then coming in the next day being all jokey and pally.'

"I thought that's fair enough. That's fair. And it was good for me because it put a distance between me and Arsenal. It gives you a bit more authority.

"Because you're not scared to criticise your old team, which you can't be in my job. So that wasn't a great time for me but I was pleased that I said what I thought."

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