With France out of Euro 2008, many Gunners were confident now would be the time that Nasri would finally seal a move to the Arsenal, after numerous delays caused by the tournament and certain contractual terms that Arsenal needed to meet in order to sign the French starlet.
And this morning, BBC Sport has stated that it ”understands” that Nasri has agreed a four year contract with Arsenal and will sign for the club after Euro 2008, something which makes little sense considering France are no longer involved. But this story is taken far further and more detailed by Setanta Sports, who say this:
A deal was agreed before Euro 2008 started, and the player who will turn 21 next week will reportedly make the trip to England to sort out the last details of the first move of his career with agent Jean-Pierre Bernes.
Nasri did not take the French squad’s helicopter following the team’s elimination from the European Championship but a private plane to Le Bourget, which is due to arrive at 3pm local time, from where he is expected to take another one to London on Thursday.
French sources claim that L’OM and Arsenal held talks in the last two weeks regarding the financial aspect of the deal, and Nasri is reportedly on the verge of signing his new contract before taking a three-week holiday following a very long season.
This is taken from La Provence, who make it seem certain that the young Frenchman will now make his long-anticipated move to the Emirates Stadium. Bearing in mind they have already stated that he was flying over here once, don’t take it as a certainty, but surely it must come to an end very soon.
So if we take it that Nasri is an Arsenal player, where does this leave us for next season? Well, at the moment it would leave us with great options on the wing for next season, as the starters would be from these four; Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri, Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky. Now Rosicky, perpetually injured, would be replaced by Vela or most likely Eboue in the squad, but even so there would be excellent options in my opinion.
But Hleb looked to be half way out of the Emirates Stadium already, although that may not be the case now, with Arsenal for once playing hardball with these potential suitors, in particular Barcelona. This is in contrast to events with Vieira and perhaps Henry, both of whom could have been sold for far more in my opinion. Barca’s Marc Ingla had this to say:
“The negotiation with Hleb is still in progress and despite him being a player with special qualities, if his club are not ready [to sell him], we have other options in mind.”
So maybe its not so clear cut, although I think it is inevitable and we’re just getting the best price we can for him. I will predict he goes by July for a fee of £14m, and if this is the case, we will need a replacement for him immediately because otherwise with Nasri in, Hleb out, we will be back to square one.
Time for Mr Arshavin to step forward. The Russian playmaker is absolutely perfect for free flowing attacking with quick movement and style in abundance, so where else for the schemer but the Emirates?
This is certainly the opinion of numerous papers jumping on the back of last nights great Russian performance to link him to the Gunners. I reckon he is better than Alex Hleb and would slot into the Premiership with very little adaptation due to his guile and relative sturdiness given his small frame. he apparently has a buy-out clause in his contract of just £10m, a price which I fancy Wenger would pay with little fuss.
But is it just media speculation with nothing in it? Possibly, but I can always hope.
So if we fail to land Arshavin, there are still many other options available to Wenger if he gets the replacement for Hleb we would so obviously need. In recent days a couple of very interesting names have been mentioned in the same sentence as Arsenal, in particular another star performer of Euro 2008, Arda Turan of Turkey.
Only 21 years old with bags of pace and direct running, Arda is another player I’d like to see as an Arsenal player if Hleb leaves. The price would be around £10m, expensive next to Arshavin’s proposed price, but for his potential could well pay off. The fact that he is a ”normal” winger would give us something different in the wide areas, and I would be willing to bet that he’d get goals here. But I reckon the link is only in the light of good performances at the Euros and we are not as interested as some sources claim we are.
Meanwhile, the likes of Kranjcar, Hatem Ben Arfa, Diego etc. could all see themselves back in the frame if Hleb leaves, along with a few players we have never heard of that Wenger finds. Either way, I am confident we WILL get another attacking signing if Hleb leaves.
