Samir Nasri

Arsenal have seemed to developed a knack in recent times. They cannot seem to win trophies even if they are regularly contesting for the finals. As I read somewhere, they follow the blissful August- September and terrible March-May sequence. Invariably they are written off at the start of the season having made no new acquisitions other than some random French footballers who have no idea where the damn ball is. And to further compound their miseries they always manage to lose their star performers from the previous year. It has happened time and again – Hleb, Flamini, Henry, etc and it seems that a new name will be added soon to that list – Samir Nasri.

The Frenchman was one of the roaring successes of last season carrying the team single handed in the absence of both Fabregas and van Persie. His contract runs out in the summer of 2012 and all attempts to get him to sign an extension have been futile till now.

When asked about it he said – “I don’t know if I will sign a new contract. Anyway, the discussions are ongoing. For the moment, I don’t think about this. We will speak about it after the match with Poland.” He has reiterated that he does not wish to get distracted by any negotiations while he is with the French national team as they negotiate tricky matches against Ukraine (Monday) and Poland (Thursday).

However this does serve as fair warning to all Arsenal fans. Has another player become disillusioned with the concept of football that prevail Emirates without producing silverware? Arsenal looked set to lose their captain Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona last year but Barcelona’s financial foes ensured that they could not meet the asking price for the Spanish international. Be assured that with another season going trophy-less Fabregas would push for a transfer.

Arsenal would have to ensure that they get Nasri to sign a contract extension this summer otherwise they run the risk of losing him for nothing next summer. And in the scenario that Nasri does not sign an extension they will be forced to sell him this summer itself. Losing both Fabregas and Nasri at the same time will really weaken Arsenal who will have to re-build their team nucleus.

Manchester United have emerged as front runners to get Nasri’s signature if he is sold. Left back Patrice Evra has openly asked Nasri to join United if he wants to do justice to his talents. The offer sounds eerily similar to ‘Cesc has Barca DNA’ claims by Xavi & Iniesta. A transfer to domestic rivals United will only serve to distance him from Arsenal supporters forever. Manchester United do need the services of a creative midfielder who can dictate play from the center of the pitch and his transfer will make total sense.

Tags: Arsenal, EPL, Football, Manchester United, Premier League, Samir Nasri, Soccer