Marc Overmars was determined to leave Arsenal throughout his last seven months at Highbury, according to former Arsenal and England striker Alan Smith. The Dutch winger's discontent stemmed from the Gunners' Boxing Day defeat at Coventry when he was singled out as a shirker by some of his team-mates.
Smith, writing in the Daily Telegraph in the aftermath of Overmars' joint £30million transfer with Emmanuel Petit to Barcelona, pinpointed the fall-out from the 3-2 reverse at Highfield Road as the moment when it became inevitable the Dutchman would soon be leaving. “Coventry were irrepressible, but it was the toothless surrender of some colleagues that rankled with the more senior visiting pros,” said Smith. “Although Arsene Wenger dislikes intensely raised voices in the dressing room, he was powerless to prevent a couple of players accusing Overmars of not pulling his weight. The Dutch winger, having served Arsenal superbly for a couple of seasons, played from that moment on with one eye cast longingly overseas and towards Barcelona in particular.”(PA)
