Arsenal’s position vis a vis Samir Nasri is weak. He’s obviously after more wages and with a year left in his contract, the club gains nothing for him once he leaves on a Bosman. There are a couple of different options a.) Give him the money he seeks, extend his contract but build in some performance clauses b.) Let him go and recoup part of his transfer fee.
So far it has been Nasri’s France team mate talking up an Old Trafford move and there is nothing official from Man Utd yet. Wenger himself categorically ruled out Nasri moving to Utd. But Nasri has taken up the ball.
“Let’s find out if their interest is true first, and then we’ll talk about it,” he said.
Utd are obviously monitoring the situation and being rivals the last thing they need is to get into a ugly situation with a whiff of tapping up. Whether he really is the answer to Paul Scholes is a matter of conjecture. He dazzled the first half of the season but Sir Alex might have noted his fading performances in the second half where he laboured to make an impression.
Further negotiations with Arsenal will probably hinge on a Cesc Fabregas transfer move. Personally, Wenger might be more amenable to Nasri moving to a rival club if the captain stays put. But a threatened move would put Wenger under pressure to increase Nasri’s wages. He can’t afford to lose both and then look for a brand new midfield as well as other transfers in crucial areas where the squad needs to strengthen.
If Fabregas leaves Nasri should be shifted centrally where he’s far more effective. He was far less of a threat stuck on the left where he spent too much time on the ball and had less success cutting in. Arsenal were slower in committing to numbers in the box which increased the pressure on Nasri to score.