Marouane Fellaini has explained precisely why he uses his elbows so much whilst playing for Manchester United.
The 28-year-old Belgium midfielder has been one of England's most physical players ever since arriving in the Premier League at Everton in 2008, and has been at the centre of various different controversies because of his physical style of play.
In fact, Fellaini's over-use of the elbows has been put under the microscope as recently as Thursday night's Europa League last-16 tie against Liverpool - and he was lucky to escape a ban for a similar offence in the first-leg against the Reds.
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But Fellaini has defended himself against criticism, insisting he is not a dirty player.
In an interview with the BBC, he said: ""I don't want to elbow someone. I just defend myself.
"Okay, I'm physical. I like to win my challenge - that's English football as well. But I am not a dirty player.
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"I just defend myself. I like to win my challenges when I play a game. In England, there are a lot of physical challenges so, if you want to win the game, you have to be aggressive.
"I never want to injure a player or to be bad. I'm not like that. I just defend myself"
Hmm, sure Marouane, sure. it's all just down to self defence. We believe you.
It'll be interesting to see if Fellaini is 'defending himself' when United take on Manchester City in tomorrow's derby match. Who knows, but we're betting he probably will be.
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Football, Manchester United, Marouane Fellaini