Manchester United legend Eric Cantona has played down his arrest earlier this week.

The Frenchman was taken into custody in London on Thursday after reportedly assaulting a photographer, but the former United man has moved to dismiss the severity of the situation.

"Yes, I had an altercation with a paparazzi, who, according to me, was being too intrusive," Cantona is quoted as saying on Goal.com.

"I spent three or four hours at the police station and then I came back home to Paris, as I had planned. If it had been violent, I would not have spent only three or four hours there.

"The story itself was too small to get the interest of anyone, so they had to amplify it. But I'm used to it."

Cantona, who also had a spell with Leeds United, retired in 1997.