Former Arsenal star Francis Coquelin has surprisingly taken aim at Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Frenchman registered 160 appearances across 10 years with the Gunners before he departed for La Liga side Valencia back in January 2018. However, it was his first match in an Arsenal shirt that had caught the eye of Ferguson.
The former United boss wrote about Coquelin in his autobiography, with the tough-tackling midfielder making his debut for the north Londoners during their famous 8-2 defeat against United back in 2011. "Arsenal played a young boy in midfield; Francis Coquelin," Ferguson wrote.
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"He was completely out of his depth. I had hardly heard of him, and he barely played again."
Now, Coquelin has admitted that the Scot's words stuck with him for a long time, claiming that clinching the UEFA Europa League with current side Villarreal last season was his way of getting revenge on Ferguson and United, who they defeated in the final. Speaking about the Gdansk showpiece to French outlet RMC Sport, he said: "A feat, but also a little revenge.
"When I made my Arsenal debut, we lost 8-2 at Old Trafford. At the time, I took a dig from Sir Alex Ferguson in his biography.
"So, it was a nice little kickback to win the Europa League against them. Besides, I think he was in the stands.
"Lifting the trophy in front of him was nice. I looked for him, I didn’t find him. But he must have seen me."
