The tabloids are saying that Samir Nasri is expected to tell Arsene Wenger today that he wants to go to Manchester United, who will pay him a lot more than Arsenal and have a bulging trophy cabinet which is regularly topped up, this being Nasri’s prime motivation rather than money. He is also expected to say that the departure of decent players and the failure to replace them is demotivating. For his part Arsene Wenger is expected to try and persuade Samir that big names are imminent, and that he will become a very important player in the new formation. Which roughly translated means, “Samir you have me by the balls, please get me out of this hole that would make Flamini’s departure look tame in comparison”
Even if we want to sell Nasri to Man City to save face, if the player won’t sign, what can we do? I’d rather not have been in this position in the first place, and Benzema or no Benzema, until we fix the defence, we are stuffed anyway. But if £20 million will fix the defence, then I shall have to do a 180 U-turn and eat humble pie with regards to my thought of the day yesterday. Just to remind you all, I stated that in my opinion Nasri will stay and sign a new contract. But if after this meeting he does not, then as they say 24hrs is a long time in Football politics.OK I will also have been made to look a prat. (I have never said that I always get it right.)
Football politics are sometimes as confusing as they are corrupt. I mean, who would have imagined that FIFA would be talking about 30 minute periods in 40 degrees of heat in Quatar in 2022? We used to see tapping up as a serious offence, but now we can’t be bothered apparently. Is that because we are all at it? Well not so far down the Seven Sisters Road a similar scenario is being played out. Luca Modric has been courted by Chavski. The player is unsettled, yet now has been told that he is not for sale AT ANY PRICE. A formal bid was rejected so that should be the end of the matter. So the player can either play professionally and get on with the master plan, or sit in the reserves until he forgets what shape a football is…
Now if only Arsene Wenger could take a leaf out of Daniel Levy’s book, but the main difference is that Daniel Levy has two years to play with, and for a player, the prospect of not playing top flight football for 12 months would be very destructive. Levy has stuck to his guns, the player is not for sale, and Levy’s credibility remains intact, and the Club remains bigger than the player. So not for the first time, the lily white and blues have made us look like idiots. (remember 4-4?) Now as much as it pains me to have to say this, perhaps we should admire Tottenham for making a stand? At least Levy is drawing a line in the sand, or have I got this wrong? So before our resident spud on this site “Bigsy” starts crowing, just remember that we have Champions League Football and we are not about to move our club to Stratford…
So seeing as we only have five months before Samir Nasri can enter into a pre-contractual agreement with the Red half of Manchester, followed by being able to walk on a free next summer. It is an unholy mess and distraction. We must try to sell him to the blue half of Manchester and make a killing in transfer fees, as giving in to the player’s wage demands completely will only cause more problems. The implicit suggestion that some players are indeed bigger than Arsenal Football club has been brought about by inept management, because if we give in we lose, and if we stand our ground we lose! It depends finally upon how much respect Samir Nasri has for the fans of Arsenal Football Club, for because without wanting to fan the flames, if he goes to Manchester United on a free then the fans will react very negatively. He might want to ring Cashley Cole to discuss if the money is worth all the future aggro…
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