I accused Arsenal team-mate of disrespecting Thierry Henry - he refused to talk to me

Two players fell out over an incident involving Arsenal hero Thierry Henry

Former Arsenal stars William Gallas and Samir Nasri had a bitter falling out after the latter was accused of disrespecting Thierry Henry.

Gallas and Nasri played together at Arsenal for two seasons, between 2008 and 2010. Despite being team-mates for club and country, that period was defined more by their legendary feud than their footballing chemistry.

Their tense relationship stemmed from an incident during Euro 2008 while both players, along with Henry, were on international duty with the France team. Gallas in November 2008 released his autobiography, La Parole est a la Defense (Speaking in Defense), which shattered his relationship with Arsene Wenger and the rest of the Gunners squad.

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One explosive story he told in the book detailed his feud with an unnamed young French player, which soon became clear had been Nasri, from the previous summer. Gallas slammed the midfielder for sitting in Henry’s seat on the team bus and refusing to move.

The veteran defender took it as a sign of disrespect towards a legendary figure in the France team and described Nasri’s behaviour as "insolent" and "cheeky". The spat made for a frosty relationship even before the book's release, after Arsenal signed Nasri that same summer from Marseille.

Later giving his take on the incident, 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 later joined bitter rivals Tottenham, appeared to hold a grudge, given his telling of the story in his book. But the Frenchman insisted his relationship with Nasri actually broke down following a row during a Champions League game 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!"

Once Gallas had moved to rivals Spurs, Nasri famously refused to shake his hand before a match. The pair’s tit-for-tat war of words in the media hasn’t fully died down in recent years despite their respective retirements.