Nasri, the fallen angel
Samir Nasri is struggling to silence his critics.
French President Francois Hollande may be having a tough time boosting the economy but the country’s export business is thriving; of footballers that is.
European clubs are increasingly looking at the French leagues to find the ‘right players.’ In English Premier League there is even a pseudo French team — Newcastle United. The idea of a combined European Union surely has a lot of backers in football.
However, one player who should have been the flagbearer of the French contingent in England seems to be beating the retreat. Samir Nasri had always been destined for greatness. Headline writers had even predicted him to be the ‘next Zinadine Zidane.’
The attacking midfielder even seemed to be justifying the billing in the 2010-11 season for Arsenal, often outshining the then fan-favourite Cesc Fabregas. But since his acrimonious move to Manchester City, Nasri has failed to rekindle the magic he is know for.
To be fair to Nasri, he did perform well during City’s title-winning efforts last season but a brilliant show in one match was often followed by a lacklustre one in the next.
The current season has been worse. Nasri has struggled to provide the trademark creative flair on a consistent note, forcing manager Roberto Mancini to prefer James Milner — a less eye-catching but an industrious and effective midfielder — over the Frenchman.
And Mancini is known to make his displeasure clear, be it by ostracising Carlos Tevez —though that’s history now — or by catching his beloved Mario Balotelli — who is now history for the club — by the collar.
“Sometimes a player thinks it’s enough what they did the year before and doesn’t understand that every day they should improve. If you are a top player you know you can improve until the last day of your career but sometimes you get players who think it is not important to work and this is their worst mistake,” said Mancini of Nasri while speaking to the Guardian.
Nasri’s dip in form has expectedly hit City, with the entire creative burden thrusted upon the shoulders of Spaniard David Silva. And with Manchester United fast disappearing from the horizon there are talks of new recruits in the summer. Sevilla’s Jesus Navas could be a perfect fit for the club. But for Nasri, Navas’ inclusion could mark the end of his career at the Etihad Stadium.
If Nasri somehow does not reinvigorate himself, his career graph would follow that of the French economy.
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