Hold the press: Didier Drogba has admitted that he used to be an Arsenal fan.

When growing up in France, the 37-year-old was surrounded by Gooners and he’s revealed that he was also a fan.

“As a young kid growing up in France, the team that everyone was supporting was Arsenal because of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires, Sylvain Wiltord and Arsene Wenger as well,” Drogba said.

“They were showing a lot of Arsenal games and I was a fan, at that time, of the team.”

The former Chelsea man also admitted that Thierry Henry was his ‘hero’ and that when the Blues played us, it gave him extra incentive to perform.

Obviously the striker was careful to clarify that he was an Arsenal fan ‘at the time’, as it stands to reason that he’s probably more of a fan of that other London team now after all the time he spent there. However, it’s still probably enough to get a few peoples’ backs up.

I’m just glad we don’t have to see him banging in the goals against us anymore. No matter how highly he speaks of the team, words won’t erase the wounds caused by years of watching Drogba slotting the ball into our net.