Nasri Deal?????? On/Off, On/Off, On/Off

[Mike J]

hmm, I have a gut feeling this ain't going to work out ... hope I'm wrong

i think he is going to be superb.... hope im right!

[rabbit]

Does anyone know the current situation with proposed Nasri transfer ?

Thanks

[Wooders]

Does anyone know the current situation with proposed Nasri transfer ?

Thanks

He's been having a medical for a month - we're being extra thorough after the santa cruz fiasco

[lets all have a disco]

Does anyone know the current situation with proposed Nasri transfer ?

Thanks

Currently holed up in here opposite the roadhouse painting up a few evil enemies,moving on to terrains later.

[Ted Hughes]

I think the deal is pretty much done & we will sign him very soon but not neccessarily in time for Sunday. Imo, he doesn't look fit enough to play anyway so it matters not.

[Chinners]

I think the deal is pretty much done & we will sign him very soon but not neccessarily in time for Sunday. Imo, he doesn't look fit enough to play anyway so it matters not.

They said the same about Aguero ;)

[Slim]

Ditch this idea go for Mata. He said he prefers the scum to us now this is a classic mercenary and will cause shit and leave. Fuck the little test don't want him at our club.

fucks sake.....do you actually believe what shit you read in the papers....with ZERO quotes?


too stupid for words mate, wobble your head

he must be on a wind up...

also, what's a "little test"? i'm apparently out of the loop.

cheers

I am just shocked you are even aware of the loop's existence.

[Beefymcfc]

A nice article from the MEN:

Samir Nasri is headstrong and fearless

Stuart Brennan
August 19, 2011

Don't be fooled by the dancing feet and the delicacy of his ball control. Samir Nasri is a tough cookie.

And, while City’s ferocious training regime might come as a shock after the cotton-wool philosophy of Arsenal – as it did to Gael Clichy – Nasri will not be fazed by the rough stuff.

The French midfielder is on the verge of joining the Blues after a protracted summer transfer, perhaps the final piece in a gilt-edged jigsaw, and one which could give City a real edge in the chase for a first league title in 44 years.

And what City will get when he stops ‘edging closer’ and actually puts his name on the dotted line is the latest in a list of Marseille street footballers who have turned their alleyway expertise into true star quality.

Zinedine Zidane tops that list, and another man who made his mark in Manchester, Eric Cantona, also figures.

Nasri baulks at the obvious comparisons with Zidane, a label which was attached to him at an early age. Both are from the hard-edged southern port of Marseille, both are of Algerian descent, and Nasri has many of Zidane’s brilliant footballing qualities.

And the latter is why City are about to splash out £25m for a man who has just one year left on his Arsenal contract, and could have been snapped up for nothing next summer.

For City, next summer is an eon away. They are going for it this season, and Nasri could be the man to transform their midfield.

There is little wrong with the Blues’ engine room at the moment.

Nigel de Jong is perhaps the best defensive midfielder in the world. Gareth Barry is possibly the most under-rated player at the club, a man whose unspectacular and often shrewd work allows more gifted players to strut their stuff without fear of embarrassment and with plenty of supply.

Yaya Toure combines a gigantic physical influence with tremendous subtlety, linking play from back to front, and often carrying the attack to the opposition single-handedly.

And then there is David Silva, slick, quick and dangerous as he dances in the spaces which defences did not know were there.

Perhaps the only criticism last season was that with de Jong and Barry as a conventional midfield pair in a 4-2-3-1 set-up, City sometimes lacked pace and flair in that area.

De Jong is a destructive force par excellence, Barry a tireless worker and good give-and-go merchant. Neither is quick.

That would indicate that Barry is vulnerable to Nasri’s arrival, if Roberto Mancini plans to field the French ace in his preferred central role.

But Mancini loves players who can slot into several positions, and Nasri is just such an asset.

When he was a stripling of a kid at Marseille, he was employed as a deep-lying midfielder or sometimes shunted onto the wing, as he did not always have the physicality to cope in the midfield minefield.

But as he bulked up, he was converted into a playmaker, strong enough, quick enough and talented enough to hack it.

He can play in a 4-3-3 as a wide man, a position in which Arsene Wenger often preferred to play him, as he felt it offered the best chance for him to damage teams with his pace and superb dribbling ability.

It was from there that he inflicted serious damage on City last season as the Gunners inflicted City’s heaviest home defeat in the Sheikh Mansour era.

Linking effortlessly with Andrei Arshavin, Nasri ripped open the City left flank and crashed in the opening goal of a 3-0 win, finally capping a man of the match performance by setting up Nicklas Bendtner for the third.

But Wenger also did not hesitate to drop Nasri into the heart of his team when Cesc Fabregas was absent, and Mancini will also ponder that option.

Arsenal had hoped that the departure of Fabregas earlier this week might change Nasri’s mind, as he would finally get to be the main man in central midfield but it seems, unless Nasri has a spectacular volte-face, that their hope is forlorn.

The player is, like Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, a boy from the barrios, who knows the taste of a wooden spoon and was elevated above the fetid heat of the slums by his ability with a football.

He was picked up by Marseille at nine, drafted into the French national youth system at 14 and three years later was scoring the late winner in the European Under-17 Championships final to see off the Spain of Gerard Pique and Fabregas.

Arsenal slipped in ahead of a host of other top European clubs in 2008 and Nasri marked his debut with a lively display and the winner against West Bromwich Albion.

He has continued to add to his game during his Arsenal days, and last season had the best goalscoring record of his career, netting 15 in 46 games, a haul which helped to push him into the PFA Team of the Year and onto the short-lists for their Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.

The point that Nasri continues to try to learn his trade was well made by Arsenal’s chief French scout Gilles Grimandi who played a big part in getting him to the Emirates three years ago.

“Samir is a student of football – he lives for the game,” said the ex-Arsenal player. “He loves training and watches game after game on TV. He uses things he has seen to help correct mistakes in his own game.

“When you genuinely love football this is what makes the difference.”

[urlnp=http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/sport/football/manchester_city/s/1456282_stuart-brennan-samir-nasri-is-headstrong-and-fearless]Link[/urlnp]

[Ted Hughes]

Bob was still talking about more than one target in a snippet of an interview on Talkshite just now. Looks like he's been told got to get players out if he wants to add any more players after this though.

Decent piece by Brennan there too. Cheers Beefy.

[Beefymcfc]

Bob was still talking about more than one target in a snippet of an interview on Talkshite just now. Looks like he's been told got to get players out if he wants to add any more players after this though.

Decent piece by Brennan there too. Cheers Beefy.

This is one of our biggest problems if you ask me. We may keep saying that we are loaded but we still have to run a a business, even more so now due to FFP (as we all know). With Ade, Bellers, RSC et al taking around a million a month in wages then we just can't afford to be bringing players in willy-nilly with no consequences. It would make perfect sense to offload one or two to enure the wage bill balances out.

But, I'm sure, we already know this.

[Chinners]

I was underv the impression that Mancini was told he had to get rid of some players at the end of last season as well ..... he don't seem to take any notice

[lets all have a disco]

I was underv the impression that Mancini was told he had to get rid of some players at the end of last season as well ..... he don't seem to take any notice

Wonder Tash is dealing with that stuff yo,Bobs job is to crank up the wage bill and win trophies innit.

Im guessing tashy is sat in office like this with dial up internet and a pager,the guy rinsed us for 18 million for Crocky now move him on.

[Ted Hughes]

Today was the first time I've ever heard Bob going on about it though.

[Beefymcfc]

I was underv the impression that Mancini was told he had to get rid of some players at the end of last season as well ..... he don't seem to take any notice

I think it would've been play them or get rid, and that's where the few issues with them happened.

[Wooders]

getting rid of players isn't bobys job though - former blackburn dude is meant to be here for that - unfortunately Hughes doesn't have a club so he's struggling with crocky

[Beefymcfc]

getting rid of players isn't bobys job though - former blackburn dude is meant to be here for that - unfortunately Hughes doesn't have a club so he's struggling with crocky

It may not be his job but he is the manager and therefore must abide by fact that we can only spend so much money.

And I suggest you stop drinking so early in the morning ;-)

[Beefymcfc]

Well, it's 12 o clock. Has he or hasn't he?

[Crossie]

fuckkkk offffffffff

I cant be bothered with this deal anymore he IS NOT WORTH £25 million even if he had 5 years left on his contract.

Keep the money, keep SWP and sort this out next summer.

[Mark (Blue Army)]

Well, it's 12 o clock. Has he or hasn't he?

He hasn't, not bothered with this now. Its dragged on far to long.

[trueblue64]

1239:
FOOTBALL- Arsenal on Twitter reporting from manager Arsene Wenger's press conference: "Wenger says "Nasri is in the squad tomorrow and is available to be picked""