‘Not for me’: Andros Townsend mocks Gabriel’s comments about Arsenal’s fans

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Andros Townsend has mocked Gabriel’s comments about him joining the club because of the Arsenal fans, as he told talkSPORT (02/09/20 at 7:30 am).

The former Spurs winger thinks that he made the comments just so he could get on the ‘good side’ of the Arsenal supporters from ‘day one’.

Gabriel’s move to the Emirates Stadium was long-awaited, but when the deal was finally confirmed, he shared that ‘so many fans were sending me messages asking me to join Arsenal’, as quoted by the Mirror.

Crystal Palace speedster, Townsend, thinks that the messages from Mikel Arteta to Gabriel were ‘important’ in him signing, but his comments about the Arsenal fans weren’t for him.

“That’s very important,” Townsend told talkSPORT. “The director does the signings. He promises you the world, but at the end of the day, you want to hear it from the manager that’s picking the team.

“You want to speak to the manager. See what he thinks of you, where he wants to play you and his idea for you in the team and the system.

“I would agree that speaking to the manager is vitally important. I don’t agree with the first quote about ‘fans were a big factor’. We spoke about this earlier. I think he’s just saying that to get on their good side from day one. But, not for me.”

Gabriel will now provide a much-needed boost, freshness and quality to Arsenal’s backline and Arteta will be hoping he can help elevate the team.

The 22-year-old joins a side that has been used to winning trophies in recent weeks and against some top sides – the FA Cup against Chelsea and the Community Shield against Liverpool.

Whilst Arsenal fans have perhaps received false hope in recent times, this does feel like a turning point for a club that has waited a long time to try and get back to the top.