Tim wrote:

He'd played well over 200 games before the start of this season but still managed to improve loads.

Again, I disagree. But then I didn't think he was the waste of space that some people did last year.

But again, this is all beside the point. Nobody except for the poster who opened this thread has said that Nasri is rubbish. I stand by what I said though:

There's nothing wrong with Nasri per se, but if we buy the wide forward that we need this summer (and my preference is to get two), his position is as much up for grabs as Arshavin's or Walcott's.

Do you disagree? I don't think that you will if you take a genuine look at this season.

I'm not sure I understand your example Capi, we learn and grow from observing our environment that is true, but it's also true that as we age our brains react differently, yes we lose our flexibility and creativity but we gain more level-headedness and take less stupid risks.

The point is that at 50, 30, 21 or 16, the number of experiences that you have had take precedence over anything else.

Tim wrote:

Sorry, but this sounds like complete bullshit to me. There are loads and loads of sports people, that despite having a lot of competitive experience in their early 20's, went on to become far better as they got older. I can give examples in virtually any sport you care to mention.

Besides which, personality and maturity has a big impact on the kind of player you are, and your personality never stops developing. I know I'm a very different person and sportsman now than when I was 22/23.

Nasri has improved immensely from this time last year. There is literally no cogent argument against him continuing to improve over the next 12 months.

henry, rooney, drogba, zidane, rivaldo, pirlo, eto'o, xavi etc etc all improved tremendously as footballers as they grew older (25-30).

for me it's a question of decision making. to get really good at something (including decision making or intelligence/vision in football) you need thousands of hours of practice. which is why most players improve steadily as they gain experience from top flight football.

Cut Nasri some slack guys. This is another player whose development has probably been retarded by Wenger's druid management. We had this guy in an Alonso-style deep-lying playmaker for large chunks of the time he was healthy two seasons ago. Turnip needs to start playing these boys in their favored positions, or where we can make the best use of them. Poor Bendnter for example, would probably be closer to his perceived ability, if he was played down the middle rather than on the wing

Data is not Information.
Information is not knowledge.
Knowledge is not wisdom.

Certain things only come in time.

😆

We're talking about football here...

Caligula wrote:

Cut Nasri some slack guys. This is another player whose development has probably been retarded by Wenger's druid management. We had this guy in an Alonso-style deep-lying playmaker for large chunks of the time he was healthy two seasons ago. Turnip needs to start playing these boys in their favored positions, or where we can make the best use of them. Poor Bendnter for example, would probably be closer to his perceived ability, if he was played down the middle rather than on the wing

i think nasri has had a very good season and shown great progress. his movement off the ball is getting sharper, more incisive and direct. he still needs to work on using his tremendous close control and balance more efficiently, but he's coming along nicely. i expect him to continue improving.

Captain wrote:

😆

We're talking about football here...

You can relate everything to football thats why it's more than a game. 😉

Don't forget that while Nasri was in the best form any player at the club managed all season Wenger decided to move him from the right wing to the left, that is the point at which his form dropped a bit. Even with a drop in form he's still been one of our better players, he just didn't live up to his own standards.

I think Nasri has improved quite a bit this season, physically more than anything. He's quicker, stronger and more agile than he was last year. I dont think that improvement happened through age or experience, I think he identified his physical abilities as an area he could easily improve with some hard work. And I think he can still make small but significant incremental improvements to his game for years to come, which will make him a far better player at 27/28 than he is now. He'd have to be stupid not to.

At the top level a small improvement in one area can have a huge impact. For instance, if he focused hard on improving his set-pieces in the summer and started banging in 4-5 free-kicks every season he'd be a far more valuable player to us. That's just one tangible example. He might also strive to identify why his form has dipped in the second half of the season and learn from it-maybe he's doing something different, maybe he could improve his approach to games, maybe he started putting too much pressure on himself etc, etc.

Jesus chirst, people actually wanting to sell Nasri?

One of the reasons I abandoned A-M for this place is because regardless of whether or not I agree with the opinion 90% of the time it's reasonable and rational. But some of the things said in this thread are blowing that theory away.

He's one of the best talents in world football, not just in terms of what he could turn into, but what he already is. If some of you think we can do better than Nasri you need a bloody reality check.

For me players like Nasri and Walcott who've shown massive signs of improvement can't be critisised, it's all you can ask of them. They've both taken huge leaps in turning their potential into end product and have more than played their part this season.

otfgoon wrote:

Jesus chirst, people actually wanting to sell Nasri?

You can probably count them with a fifth of a hand in fairness.

That's not to say it's not worth discussing his overall performance this season, or indeed that of any player in the squad.

I'd only sell him if he was dragging his heels over a new contract. It would be ridiculous to lose a £25m player for free.

If he really doesn't want to be here, I'd sell him in a heart beat. But that's the same with every player. And it's why I said I wouldn't be gutted if we did sell him to Man United in the other thread. If he actually wanted to go to them, I would wave him good bye.

Of course I don't think he does or will.

Cant deny that if we did sell Nasri, especially to Utd, it would have a HUGE psychological impact.

Oh I see, fair enough guys.

Pepe LeFrits wrote:

That's not to say it's not worth discussing his overall performance this season, or indeed that of any player in the squad.

Not a bad idea for a thread. Would be interesting to see how many players people think have let the team down with their overall performances (relative to their abilities).

Could be an idea to do player review/rating threads, but I'd wait until the season is officially over - I like my formalities!

So, if rumors and reported interviews are to be believed, Nasri wants to play more centrally, Fabregas, likes playing further back and Arshavin just wants to play

Why don't we accommodate them as:

-------------------van Persie--------------------
Arshavin-----------Nasri---------------Walcott
-----------Fabregas-----------Song-------------

What about;

-------------Walcott----------
-----------Van Persie--------
Nasri----Cesc---New DM---New RW

Fuck Arshavin off, Wilshere, Ramsey, Song and Diaby are versatile squad options.

Wilshere out of the team is not an option.