At last, the Samir Nasri saga is almost over.
Almost as frustrating the Cesc Fabregas transfer to Barcelona, Nasri’s refusal to sign a new contract has alienated himself from the Arsenal fans, and finally, it looks like his move to Manchester City will be completed soon.
His strange behaviour on Twitter, which started on Monday where he stated:
“I heard what the fans were singing about me on saturday and it is really disrespectful because i’m still a arsenal player.”Â
He then congratulated Cesc on his move to Barca, which was fair enough:
“Congratulation to my mate i will miss you world class player and top men.”Â
But then yesterday things got a little hairy, and it was speculated that Nasri had declared his disgust at the Arsenal fans and his move to Manchester City on his Facebook page. Again using Twitter, Nasri tweeted:
“Just to make things clear i dont have a facebook so i never said i was leaving with bitterness the guy who said that use a fake account.”
In what has been one of the more strange transfer stories of the summer, Nasri should probably use Twitter and social media as much as Joey Barton.
Now it looks like he’s finally going, I’m not sure how to end this post. Obviously, I wished Cesc all the best for what he had done for the club, and even gave a touching tribute to The Unachievable’s, but how do I feel about Samir Nasri?
Unlike most Arsenal supporters I suspect, I never really read much into his refusal to sign a new deal. Over the years I’ve learnt to pretty much ignore all transfer speculation involving Arsenal because about 90% of it is completely made up. I find it quite hilarious how many players we’re linked with over the summer and January transfer windows and how many Arsenal fans actually believe the hype. We should all know how Arsene does (and doesn’t) spend his money by now.
Anyway, back to Samir. Coming from Marseille and being a right-footed winger who mainly played on the left, obvious comparisons were made to Bobby. His form over his first two seasons wasn’t anything special (a la Bobby) and it was last season when he really came into his own. In Cesc’s absence, he relished the central role and his performances were far more consistent. He scored some really beautiful goals, including that wonder goal against FC Porto in the Champions League.
And with Cesc’s homecoming more and more likely, Nasri would have been the perfect candidate to replace him. So in a sense it’s a really shame it has come to this.
His antics off the pitch should not take away from the fact that Arsenal are losing a talented and important player. That is why it is imperative that Arsene spends money on quality and brings in experience to the club. We have lost Fabregas and soon Nasri, and at least some of that needs to be invested back into the team.
I wouldn’t begrudge Arsene if he kept most of it but if he doesn’t bring in at least one creative player who will help our season then that would be unforgivable.
Don’t ruin this early season optimism I have Arsene!
