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Morgan Schneiderlin has joked he nearly set off a tear gas bomb at St Mary's after Southampton blocked a move to Arsenal.

The midfielder claimed he had a meeting with Arsenal set up but Saints stopped him leaving because fans were "freaking out."

Schneiderlin then revealed that he feared the club would leave him to rot in "the gutter" if he refused to play rather than let him follow the summer exodus which included Calum Chambers, Adam Lallana and Luke Shaw.

France international Schneiderlin took to Twitter to register his displeasure as he wrote: "6 years of an incredible adventure #saintsfc DESTROYED in one hour! !"

Schneiderlin said: "Chambers left the day before our meeting with Arsenal.

The club then saw our fans were starting to freak out. The leaders said: 'If Morgan goes the stage will be burned.' They then told me, and my agents: 'Morgan, it is not for sale.'

(Image: Steve Bardens)

"I had to show my disagreement. Either I was going to the club to throw a tear gas bomb or say something on social networks.

"Through this tweet, I wanted to do something to make people understand the situation. In five seconds, I saw the reach of social networks. It was a kind of bomb. This tweet is a passage in my life.

"I felt the leaders at Southampton would not let me leave. They would have preferred to leave me in the gutter, so to speak, for six months.

"So I started training, I took pleasure in touch the ball, I really needed to play football, and I was made to play against Liverpool at the first day of the Premier League.

"At Anfield, all fans of Southampton applauded me and my name was chanted. It has warmed my heart. I knew then that I would spend the season at Southampton."