Bacary Sagna has admitted he was 'surprised' when he first saw Cesc Fabregas' comments about his former teammates Arsenal, saying how only the Spaniard, Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri were the only ones at the club at the time who was on his level.
The former Gunners midfielder played at the Emirates from 2003 to 2011, when he forced through a move to Barcelona.
And during an appearance on fan podcast Arsecast, the Spaniard made some disparaging comments about his former teammates at North London.
He said: "I was the captain, I always felt so much pressure on myself.
“I had to lead this team to win something. I gave everything.
"Sometimes, I used to go home after we lost and I used to cry, I used to suffer, I used to spend sleepless nights suffering.
"But I was putting pressure on myself to lead, to do everything, and at one point I felt kind of lonely.
"Especially in the last two or three years, I felt Robin and Samir were the only players who were at my level mentally and technically.
"It’s not an arrogant thing to say, it’s how I felt at that time."
But now Sagna has hit back at the Monaco ace.
Speaking to Goal, the 37-year-old Frenchman said: “I was surprised to read this.
“From him I was surprised because he was supposed to be one of the leaders of the team. He was one of the great prospects and as a leader and a true player, you don’t speak like that about your club.
“So I was surprised because he is a nice guy, he’s still a nice guy, this doesn’t change anything. But I was kind of surprised.
“Arsenal made him so saying that some players were not at his level was a bit harsh because I’m not sure out of all the seasons he was playing at the club, he was always an exemplary player.
“At that time the press was talking about him not running enough or tracking back. So other players could have said ‘you should be running more or doing more’.
