Speaking recently, Danny Welbeck shed more light on his and Kieran Gibbs’ apparent dislike for each other back when they were youth players.

Welbeck recently revealed that when he played against Gibbs for United, he hated him and while the two are great pals now, the striker recently explained where his dislike for the defender came from.

“It doesn’t feel like 10 years at all,” the 26-year-old told Arsenal Player. “I was speaking to Gibbo and Ox about it not long ago at all, talking about Gibbo being a flying left winger. I hated coming up against him. It was mad.

“I knew everything about their team, they knew everything about us. I was only 15, Gibbo was 16 I think. It was a mad time.

“Then, me and Gibbo disliked each other. Playing against him I thought ‘I don’t like this guy’. But now we’re proper close, we’re good friends so it’s crazy how things change.”

Although Welbz has only been an Arsenal player since 2014, it feels as if he’s been one of the squad for far longer and integrating so effortlessly into the social aspect of the team probably made leaving his boyhood club slightly more bearable. However, those old rivalries don’t always die easily and it’s a testament to both Gibbs and Welbeck that they can laugh it off now they’re older.

Welbeck is currently recovering from an illness he picked up just before the Bayern Munich game at the Emirates. It’s unclear whether he – or Gibbs – will feature at the weekend against West Brom.