Ex-Arsenal midfielder claims former teammate would eat KFC before games

Emmanuel Frimpong has been speaking about some of his former Arsenal teammates.

Frimpong came through the academy at Arsenal, making 16 first-team appearances between 2011 and 2013 before leaving on a permanent transfer to Barnsley. Since then, he has embarked on a nomadic career, playing in Russia, Sweden and Cyprus, and is more remembered for his social media presence than his ability on the field. The 26-year-old is currently without a club after picking up a hamstring injury back in January. He has been reflecting on his time at the Gunners during an interview with Charlie Eccleshare in The Telegraph and has revealed his true thoughts on some of his former teammates. According to the Ghanaian, Alex Song would eat at fast-food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken before home matches and would eat fried chicken on the team bus before matches. It didn't seem to hinder his performances though, as Song earned a move to Barcelona on the back of his displays for Arsenal. "Then there was [Alex] Song, who used to go to KFC before every home game," Frimpong said.

"On the bus to the team hotel the night before the game, he would be eating chicken nuggets."

The former Arsenal midfielder said Song was the funniest player on that team, and he spoke highly of former teammates such as Cesc Fabregas, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. However, he didn't hide his contempt for Samir Nasri. "The reason I don't like him is because he's an idiot, plain and simple. I would never ever have respect for him," Frimpong said about Nasri, who left Arsenal for Manchester City in 2011. Frimpong claims that the French midfielder criticised him after he was sent-off in a match against Liverpool at the Emirates and spoke down to him in training.

"He (Arsene Wenger) was actually very calm, but for some reason Nasri came in and he was like: 'We lost the game because of you'. I was a young guy, didn't really know what I was doing, and was devastated. I felt like I'd let everybody down and he was really blaming me, so I really didn't like him. He always had a go at me if I gave the ball away in training and even said to me once: 'I could buy you if I want'. To be honest, he probably could have done at the time, but still."

Frimpong claims that Andrey Arshavin was the worst trainer at the club and that Santi Cazorla was the best footballer.