***Official Nasri Signs - Press conference added page 3***

[ant london]

ah but fair's fair Mr Merchant. Said poster would never dream of trotting out an "I told you so" so nor should we

[DoomMerchant]

ah but fair's fair Mr Merchant. Said poster would never dream of trotting out an "I told you so" so nor should we

ohhhhhhhh...my bad.

[ant london]

Love the bit in the interview on the OS when he's asked about playing with Silva and Aguero and he says....yes them and Yaya, Dzeko and Tevez if he stays....and he looks just as excited about it as I feel!

Fucking ace!

[john@staustell]

I think this guy is ideally suited to the quick-forward style we are developing.

[london blue 2]

with him and Kun we have some genuine attackin pace other than Yaya. Exciting times

[avoidconfusion]

Am I the only one who got distracted by Cookiemonster's PA?

[Chinners]

Am I the only one who got distracted by Cookiemonster's PA?

Nope!

[Niall Quinns Discopants]

Yeahhhhhhhhhhh man, it's officially ***Official***.

Who'd've guessed we were in for Nasri, this is a complete shock!

Where did that come from? I mean great signing but who did they manage to keep it away from public eye? Well done everyone concerned, that went smoothly.

i'm pretty sure this signing was declared dead by someone on the board about a month ago...hmmm...

'interesting'

Arsenal chairman posts on this board? Interesting indeed.

[Chinners]

Gilles Grimandi profiles Manchester City's Samir Nasri
Samir Nasri's £25 move from Arsenal to Manchester City sees City aquire one of the most exciting midfielders in Europe.
The 24-year-old Frenchman scored 27 goals in 125 appearances for the Gunners and was arguably the Premier League's best player in the first half of last season.
One man who played a key role in bringing Nasri to England in 2008 was Gilles Grimandi, Arsenal's chief scout in France.
In a wide-ranging interview with BBC Sport in March, Grimandi gave a fascinating insight into a player he says has "everything it takes to become the best player in the world."

WHAT WAS IT ABOUT NASRI THAT CAUGHT YOUR EYE?
"In France we had a special age group born in 1987, with Nasri, Karim Benzema, Hatem Ben Arfa, Loic Remy and Jeremy Menez. All of these players were special talents and they won the Under-17 European Championship so everyone knew them for a long, long time. It was the best group of young players we had for maybe 20 years.
"Everyone was interested to see how they all developed.
"All five of them had immense talent and when they played together for France at age group level it was near-impossible to say who was the best. If you showed them to five different scouts when they were 16 each would have picked a different player.
"But Samir always had something that set him apart from the rest - an unbelievable love of football. You might think every player loves football but not like this. Samir is a student of football - he lives for the game. 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.
"And he has one more ability. He is very, very intelligent. I remember he had one bad season at Marseilles - he kept getting injured and ill - but every time he had a great reaction because he lives for football. He does everything he can to be the best, he's confident in his ability and he has a very strong personality."

WHEN DID YOU FIRST NOTICE HIS INTELLIGENCE?
"I had never spoken to him before he signed but you could just smell his intelligence. It was obvious from the way he played and the way his spoke in interviews on TV after games. The way he has managed his career and made decisions is very impressive. He knows where he wants to go, he's focused on that and no-one can change his mind. Provided he's on the right track, which he always was, that is a wonderful quality.

"You have some players who are very, very good technically but don't understand the game. There's no point having those technical skills if you don't have the intelligence. If you have the technical quality, understand the game and are good physically, you have everything to be a top class player.

"Intelligence is a very important factor when we look at signing a player. We want intelligent players and in our team at present we have a very high level of intelligence."

WHAT WAS HE LIKE GROWING UP?
"People don't realise how difficult it is to grow up as a footballer in Marseilles when you come from the city. Everyone knew him by the time he was 12 or 13, so he had to deal with unbelievable expectation.

Grimandi made 171 appearances for Arsenal between 1997-2002
"After every game the fans would come up to him and analyse his performance. Big, big pressure. He was only young but he always reacted incredibly well. He said "OK, I'm Nasri, I'd better go and do my job". And he must have done it well because look where he is today.

"It's difficult for the parents too because every day, every minute, every hour you have to think about your kid.

"For me, he took the right decision every time. He said I want to play for Marseilles because I'm from Marseilles. Then I want to get to the first team and afterwards I'll go to the club I want to go to. He had a plan for his career and he knew how to get it."

WHEN DID WENGER BECOME INTERESTED?
"Arsene knew him well for a long time before signing him. He saw him play in the Under-17 European Championships and all he needed to hear from me was what I've told you. When you watch a player game after game like I do it's easy to have a special feeling.

"But when you only watch him once every three or four months it's a bit more difficult, so it was important for me to make sure Arsene knew about his intelligence, his character and his passion for football. These three things, allied to the talent he had, convinced me that he would be a successful signing.

"But the most important thing for Samir was meeting Arsene. It was Arsene who convinced Samir that he had everything it takes to become the best player in the world. He knew what he had, he knew everything, but when Arsene told him that 'you can be the best player, you can score, you can go as far as you want' that's the point at which he realised what he was capable of and where he needed to go to achieve that."

DID YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS FOR NASRI?
"Physically, I knew he was a top class player but we were concerned over whether he was suited to English football.

NASRI - CAREER STATS
Born: 26 June 1987, Marseille
Height: 5ft 10in
Position: Attacking midfield
Marseille: 145 apps, 11 goals
Arsenal: 125 apps, 27 goals
France: 24 apps, 2 goals
"It was like when Robert Pires came to Arsenal - everyone said English football is not for Pires. When the game was very hard in France, Pires didn't like it and we wondered if it would be the same with Nasri.

"People thought Spain might be better for him. But as we're seeing now, England is perfect for him. He's developed his weakness in the challenge - now he's very strong in the challenge - and combine that with the talent and he has everything needed to be one of the best.
"At the end of the day when you have talent, you can play anywhere."

DID HE FIND IT HARD TO SETTLE IN HIS FIRST TWO SEASONS?
"Like every player it took a while to settle in and we knew he could do better. But he was still so young and step by step he has developed extremely well. In his first season his stats were good because he scored a few goals and also created a lot - but what pleased us was that his level of performance was improving. His second season was disrupted by injury but he still showed what he was capable of and this season his natural progression has continued."

WHY WAS NASRI SO GOOD LAST SEASON?
"This is the gift of Arsene Wenger. He convinces players they can do better and better. Arsene made him believe he could score more goals, to get more involved in attacks and to provide more assists.

DID YOU KNOW?
Nasri was named French Player of the Year in 2010
He was included in the PFA Team of the Year for 2010-11
That's helped him become what he is now. And that's why it's so important to make the right choice with the club you go to - you need the right manager at the right time.

"He's a fantastic athlete, he's quick, flexible and good with his feet. He's been here for three years so he has developed and he's certainly not the player he was in Marseilles. The work he has put in plus his talent makes him what he is now but we knew that he had fantastic physical attributes. The only thing we weren't sure of was whether he could settle in English football. But it has worked."

WHAT IS IT WITH SMALLER PLAYERS AT THE MOMENT?
"First of all, most of these players - Cesc Fabregas, Nasri, Lionel Messi, Xavi, Andres Iniesta - are very intelligent. That's important in modern football because the game is very tight now. If you don't think about what you're going to do with the ball when it arrives and if you don't have the feet and technical ability to do it, you won't survive. The players who are small can play in a short space, they play at the right tempo, they go to the right places, they make the right decisions. They are the best and they will survive.
"If you physically dominate the game OK - but your limit will come. Physicality is not enough any more because nowadays every team is ready for the physical challenge, they prepare well. Look at the cup competitions - they are now very competitive. Why? Because today every club is physically ready. If you want to survive in modern football you have to be technically good and very intelligent."

DOES HE HAVE A BEST POSITION?
"I don't know, he can play everywhere. It's not about his position, what's important is the players who play around him.
"He can play on the right, on the left, behind the striker and sometimes even a bit deeper. You could put him in his best position but if he was in a team that just tried to play long balls he would feel uncomfortable."

[DoomMerchant]

Yeahhhhhhhhhhh man, it's officially ***Official***.

Who'd've guessed we were in for Nasri, this is a complete shock!

Where did that come from? I mean great signing but who did they manage to keep it away from public eye? Well done everyone concerned, that went smoothly.

i'm pretty sure this signing was declared dead by someone on the board about a month ago...hmmm...

'interesting'

Arsenal chairman posts on this board? Interesting indeed.

nice...ban him them. we shouldn't allow him on here. Walmai is our pet rock, we don't need anymore.

cheers

[Hazy2]

Would love to hear the abuse Evra must be getting from Red nose this morning !

[phips]

Nasri happy to take Manchester City risk

Manchester City new boy Samir Nasri claims a lack of transfer activity at Arsenal convinced him that the time was right to move.

The France international completed a switch to the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday, following a summer of speculation regarding his future.

Nasri made it clear early on that he was looking to make a fresh start, with contract talks shelved at Arsenal.

He is delighted to have joined a forward-thinking club, and one that can match his ambition.

The 24-year-old admits that he was left questioning his future and that of the Gunners towards the end of his stay at Emirates Stadium, and believes he had no choice but to look elsewhere.

Nasri told L'Equipe: "Why did I not sign a new contract with Arsenal? We started talking in October but by June I did not have any news and I didn't see anything happening in the transfer market. There comes a time when you have to invest.

"I have heard people say I have moved for money. I make a good living at City, that is true, but I am 24 years old and I have reached a turning point in my career and it was important that I joined a club with ambition.

"I believe I have more chance of winning titles at Manchester City than at Arsenal."

Nasri added: "When did I make my decision? Early in July, when we returned for pre-season. I told the coach (Arsene Wenger) that I wanted to leave.

"Is it a risk joining Manchester City? You have to take risks in life. I am not afraid to do so.

"There is a big squad here but competition is good, it makes you push yourself and stops you from becoming stale.

"Was that the case at Arsenal? Maybe."
http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/prem ... nal-082511

[Bear60]

Am I the only one who got distracted by Cookiemonster's PA?

No what a lovely looking girl.

[Dubaimancityfan]

Bienvenue Samir !

no e on the end....Samira = beinvenue....Samir = beinvenu

Who is Samira, is she a looker ? Excuse my French !!

[phips]

Nasri wanted to play Marseille......Arsenal drew against Marseille. hahaha. sucks for him.

[Duckman]

been watching Nasri's interviews on OS, Samir looks like he's high on weed. just look at his eyes.

[youtube]zYnasJ7W4vE&feature=youtu.be[/youtube]

[phips]

SSN,

Manchester City new boy Samir Nasri says he always favoured a move to the Etihad Stadium ahead of any possible switch to local rivals Manchester United following his decision to leave Arsenal.

[Mark (Blue Army)]

[youtube]xFibipfMVSM&feature=channel_video_title[/youtube]

[ant london]

He comes over very very well doesn't he

Really happy with this signing and our summer's activity

[Ted Hughes]

He really does come accross as a likeable, intelligent character. One thing about the squad that has been assembled for this season, compared with many City teams of the past, is the number of intelligent, articulate people involved (with exception of EL Neandertho & maybe one or two). Most City teams over the years have had a fair percentage of Joeys & Ireland's but there aren't many left now & that intelligence is starting to show in our football.

I'm expecting/hoping for a great season but whatever happens now, give this lot a year playing together & it may just become the best team the Premier League has seen.