Samir Nasri has set his sights on the Premier League silverware — and admits it would be a huge blow for the rip-roaring Reds to be left with no trophies come the end of the season. Ahead of today’s vital Premier League clash with Sunderland at the Emirates, Nasri has spoken about the aims and ambitions of AW’s outfit.
He said: “We can feel the Premier League title at Arsenal this season. This is our time to win a trophy. It would be a huge blow to finish with nothing. Chelsea are not as good as they were last year and neither are Manchester United. So it feels like it is now or never for Arsenal.
“Two years ago, United were untouchable with Ronaldo and Rooney scoring every week but this year they have been unconvincing, especially away from home. Chelsea were very consistent last year but this season they just fell down after eight games. Now if we can beat Sunderland we will close the gap to just one point behind United, who must play at Liverpool on Sunday without Ferdinand and Vidic.United’s strength this season has been their defence and, without those two, anything could happen at Anfield because Liverpool and United hate each other.”
Nasri has conceded that the 2-1 defeat to Birmingham in the Carling Cup final was a huge blow but has vowed to bounce back. He added: “The Carling Cup was never our top target but it was still the trophy that could have given our season a kick-start. Losing to Birmingham was a massive blow because a lot of players at Arsenal have not won anything in their careers.
“We keep hearing we have quality, quality, quality at Arsenal. But we have to prove it and that means winning a trophy. We have to show we are not scared of winning. The manager didn’t say a word after the Carling Cup final and that was really smart because after a result like that you can easily say something mean. We just have to accept that defeat and show we are men with the guts to answer in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.”
Nasri also reckons Manchester United are “scared” of the Arsenal — remember we play them next Saturday in the FA Cup and they still have to come to the Ems in the league. We narrowly lost to them at Old Trafford earlier in the season. He said: “When we played there in the league this season, United were scared of us. They didn’t play their normal game, they played three defensive midfielders and closed the game down. They know we can beat them and I am still convinced we can beat Barcelona next week.
“It was really a nightmare when we played Barcelona in the Champions League last season. We didn’t touch the ball and it felt like playing 16 men against 11. Maybe we were scared of them but we know we are a better team this time. Last year, we went to the Nou Camp and didn’t have Cesc Fabregas, Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Alex Song and William Gallas. Mikael Silvestre played his first game for three months and he was up against Lionel Messi, who scored four goals. This time will be different. We have all grown up and have all learned from our mistakes of the past.”
Nasri adds that he has not agreed a new long-term contract with the Arsenal and does not rule out the chance of a move one day — but will NEVER play for T********! He added: “I don’t make plans for my future. I learned from the past that you cannot predict what will happen. At the moment I’m really happy at Arsenal. But I haven’t discussed a new contract yet because it’s important to focus on our football targets, then we can talk in the summer. I have found a fantastic club with a fantastic manager at Arsenal. I’ve progressed as a player and I didn’t think London would be such a great city. But I cannot say I will never play for another English club… except Tottenham! In France, I could never play for Paris and in England I could never play for Tottenham. I am faithful. I could never play for the rivals. Tottenham also have William Gallas. And that’s another good reason not to go there!”
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