This former Arsenal striker fell into his former club's bad books after some comments he made during an infamous draw against Manchester United
Alan Smith speaks on In The Mixer
Alan Smith explained how he was excluded from speaking to players at his old club Arsenal's training facilities(Image: In The Mixer)
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Arsenal icon and Sky Sports commentator Alan Smith was barred from talking to players at his old club's training ground after he criticised them during a clash against Manchester United. Smith scored 115 goals in 347 appearances for the Gunners.
The 63-year-old transitioned into punditry and writing after retiring in 1995 and soon became a regular on Sky. He is now one of football's most recognisable voices thanks to his TV work and role in the FIFA video game series.
But in 2003 he had to navigate the balancing act of past loyalties and current duties when subbed in to commentate on his former club's infamous game against rivals United. The goalless draw was subsequently dubbed the 'Battle of Old Trafford', with a Patrick Vieira red card and a late Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty miss the snap moments.
After the full-time whistle, a brawl broke out centred around ex-Arsenal defender Martin Keown. Smith admits he was critical of Arsenal for this in his analysis, and as a result the club and players scrapped his monthly visits to the training ground for interviews.
"It was Man United vs Arsenal at Old Trafford, the old Martin Keown jumping up and landing on Van Nistelrooy," recalled Smith, 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.'
Arsenal players Ray Parlour, Kevin Campbell, Martin Keown and Ian Wright celebrate the equalising goal scored by Alan Smith
Smith's heroics for the club only bought him so much good grace(Image: Getty)
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"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.'
Martin Keown screams at Ruud van Nistelrooy
Keown's approach to Van Nistelrooy started a brawl in 2003(Image: Daily Mirror)
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"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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