NASRI SIGNS AS HLEB AND ADEBAYOR EDGE CLOSER TO THE EXIT
Friday, July 11th, 2008 by Stuart Stratford
Samir Nasri has completed his protracted transfer to Arsenal, joining the club just as the first team squad return to training. The French midfielder did not enjoy the best of times at Euro2008, restricted to fleeting cameos as Les Bleus were dumped out of the tournament.
His signing would appear to open the door to Arsenal finalising the sale of Alexander Hleb to Barcelona. Spanish media reports suggest that this will be for an initial €15m, increasing to €18m with bonuses. The two players are very similar, indeed enjoying similar scoring ratios at Marseilles and Arsenal. It has been the biggest criticism of Hleb that during his time at Arsenal, the player has not found the net regularly enough.
That is to miss the essence of his contribution to the side. Hleb recently observed that he is more of a creator than a scorer, attributing this to a youth coach whose mantra was, “Pass, Pass, Pass“. It has made him the fulcrum of many Arsenal attacks whereby his dribbling and close control has allowed colleagues to make the final pass or score. It is this attribute that Nasri will be expected to fill, along with the recuperating Tomas Rosicky. Should those two be able to contribute more goals then it will make Arsenal a potent attacking force in the Premier League.
Whether the strikeforce will include Emmanuel Adebayor seems increasingly unlikely. The Togolese international has attracted the covetous glances of AC Milan and Barcelona all summer, seeking a move for monetary rather than footballing reasons. The Italians are not his first choice of destination but they have upped the ante by offering €30m plus Yoann Gorcuff to Arsenal. This though seems not to be adequate for The Gunners who want £35m, a fee that according to Adriano Galliani on many occasions is out of their reach. Barcelona are thought to be shy of that amount as well, reports suggesting that they will be prepared to go to €35m (£28m). The likely outcome is to be somewhere nearer to £30m for a player who scored thirty goals last season.
Tags: AC Milan, Alexander Hleb, Arsenal, Emmanuel Adebayor, FC Barcelona, Football, La Liga, Olympique Marseille, premier league, Samir Nasri, Serie A, Soccer, Transfer Gossip
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