Wojciech Szczesny Criticises Ex-Arsenal Team-Mates Robin van Persie, Samir Nasri

Wojciech Szczesny has said former Arsenal team-mate Robin van Persie could be "extremely arrogant" and fellow Gunners alumnus Samir Nasri thought he was "some kind of gangster."

The Juventus goalkeeper recently sat down with Foot Truck (h/t Goal) and criticised Van Persie—now at Feyenoord—in relation to joining rivals Manchester United in 2012.   

Szczesny—who left Arsenal for Juve in 2017—said: "He could have made other decisions and achieved lots more at Arsenal. He's extremely arrogant—sometimes. [I] have to admit, he left for Manchester United and the following year won a title. However after that, he got benched, moved to Turkey and his big career ended."

Van Persie arrived at Arsenal in 2004 and spent eight years at the club, during which he won one major trophy—the FA Cup, which he clinched at the end of his first season (2005). His decision to join United was at least partly justified after winning the Premier League in his first term at Old Trafford.

The Dutchman spent only three years with United but managed to hit 48 league goals in that span and boasted a superior strike rate with them than at Arsenal, per Benchwarmers:

Szczesny said Nasri had a habit of acting tough and "always thought he was some kind of gangster. Everyone has this guy at school, who had strong and big friends and it made him think he was cool."

Nasri left Arsenal on bad terms for rivals Manchester City in 2011, so it's not surprising some of those he left at Emirates Stadium may not yet be on friendly terms.

The Poland international has little reason to be bitter about his time at Arsenal, given that he's won as many major trophies during two years in Italy (two) as he did during a 12-year career at Arsenal.

Programmer Massimo Marioni and sportswriter David Amoyal praised his progress in Serie A:

Szczesny commented on another former Arsenal comrade Alexander Hleb—now in his fifth spell with BATE Borisov—who he said "could have achieved more in football. He still had a great career but he liked to drink.”

The former Gunners No. 1 was more complimentary of German Lukas Podolski, who is currently playing alongside Barcelona great Andres Iniesta at Japanese club Vissel Kobe, per Squawka:

Szczesny has taken over from the departed Gianluigi Buffon as Juve's No. 1 choice in goal this season and has helped steer the Bianconeri to a 15-point lead at the Serie A summit.