Tuesday, June 07, 2011

HOLD YOUR HORSES SAMIR NASRI, THINK BEFORE YOU ACT.

Samir Nasri, a world class and formidabble midfielder is currently having the world of football literally waiting with baited breath for him to make a decision concerning his career and decide to what team he wishes to 'plight his troth'. It always comes a time when young and talented footballers as him have to face this crucial career defining moments. Nasri, or 'Petit Prince' as he is conviniently nicknamed is a player of his own class, often compared to the legend Zinedine Zidane. (Though I have to admit, no player would easily compare to the master of football artwork and precision as Zizu was.)

Samir Nasri was born on 26th June 1987 and previously played for Marseille before joining Arsenal in the Summer of 2008. He plays as an attacking midfielder in the flanks but has often stepped in for Francesc Fabregas in the middle of the pack. He is an unpredictable kind of player, able to dwindle through defenders so easily and glamorously thus winning a number of accolades including a French player of the year award for his exemplary manoeuvering skill.
Nasri is almost edging out the last 12 months of his contract at Arsenal, and the fact that he has put his signature on hold has got many team managers literally drooling off with expectations. One such team is last seasons runners up for the UEFA Champions league, Manchester United. (And need I say, weren't they literally 'running up' without the ball during that final?)
As much as it remains a rumour, a move from Arsenal to their greatest rival may just be what Nasri needs, and similarly, it may just be what tears down another promising career. I personally do believe that as much as moving from Arsenal would put his career in jeopardy, moving to Manchester United would be even more detrimental to his career. For a team that plays a completely different and rather traditional piece of football as Manchester United does, for career improvement purposes, any player should certainly stick to a more relevent team as Arsenal is. You probably will have to traverse quite a long stretch of trophylessness, but personal career will always be a check in Arsenal. Here is where talent is made, not where talent is disposed, and just to give Nasri a perfect depiction of what is at stake, I will compile a few players who have since leaving Arsenal seen their careers go down the drain.

  1. Mathieu Flamini.                
Flamini.jpgMathieu Flamini was only 24 when he left Arsenal for A.C Milan. A great central and holding midfielder who saw Giberto Silva, then still at Arsenal pulled back to the bench. Before leaving Arsenal, though more of a defensive midfielder, he and Cesc Fabregas seemed to augur so well in their central partnership. They were expected to be one of the greatest pairs in England. It seems, however, that Flamini had other thoughts, and jus like he disappointed his manager while in Marseille, he did the exact by opting to sign for Italian giants A.C Milan, turning down an offer to extend his contract at Arsenal. Out of 102 starts at Arsenal, he scored 7 goals, currently he has scored 8 after 171 appearances for Milan. Rocket Mathematicians, do we really need to apply all aspects of Calculus to do a perfect relation? I doubt not. Similarly, ever since joining Milan, the once considered French team regular has seen that dream tear dowm like he tore his Arsenal contract.





        2.  Aliaksandr Paulavich Hleb. (Alexandre Hleb.)

Alex Hleb was the first Belerusian to play a Champions League match. A great fete indeed. He was great at Arsenal proving to be a utilty player by featuring for the team from different positions. A foul mouthed player, he fell out with Arsene Wenger and after show-boating, he left for the Catelonian Giants Barcelona. He featured a mere 5 games for Barcelona before realising the cow on the other side of the farm is not always fat as it tends to look. Consequently, he started a series of loans, to his former team Struttgart and currently Birmingham city. Alex, once a big name in the footbal circles is now an effortless dying horse having its last kicks.

        3.  Jermaine Pennant.

Jermaine Pennant joined Arsenal aged only 15. He played on the flanks as a great winger, good at lifting balls to the centre of the post. Infamous of his at times costly alcohol indulgence, Pennant must have been high when he signed for Liverpool. Jermaine Pennant is of Irish and Jamaican descent though he opted to play for England's national team. Whilst at Arsenal, he was able to play for the under 21. After leaving Arsenal, Pennant has only been able to dorn England's team jersey just as a normal fan would. Together with hitting the papers for all the wrong reasons, from drunk driving to infedelity, Pennant has seen his rather colourfull future turn to nothing other than wasted potential. Jermaine Pennant currently plays for Stoke city. While at Arsenal, he saw the net 3 times after 26 appearences. He scored the same number of goals for Liverpool after more than double the number of appearences having featured 88 times. Another terminated career.

     4. Jeremie Aliadiere.
Jérémie Aliadière Middlesbrough v. Chelsea 1.png

Jeremie Aliadere is now only aged 28 and shockingly, he does not have a club! He was seen recently entering some club's grounds, dressed as a woman aiming at being a replacement for some stricker. He is even ashamed of being a man it seems. While at Arsenal, though not a regular starter, Aliadiere was set on track to being a great striker. After a couple of loans, he returned to Arsenal to build up on a budding career. Then he opted to move to Middlesbrough, and mediocrity set in.
In March, Aliadiere was back to Arsenal, not as a player but as a man in dire need of help in order to keep fit. A career is gone, and I am sure if there's a moment he regrets in life, its that moment he signed to leave Arsenal. He may not say it, but it is written all over his life.

    5. Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor.


Emmanuel Adebayor is indeed an overated player, thanks to Arsenal club and its fans that made this Togolese at more times than not grow so fond of himself that he at times though he was the superman of the football universe. Well, trust a club like Arsenal to do jus that. If he hadn't come to Arsenal, the young man would be unheard of, probably rotting in some bench somewhere or robbing people in the slums of Togo. I do admit, he is playing, at a top club that is Real Madrid, but under very critcally undependable conditions. For a team boasting of the likes of Higuain and Karim Benzema, Emmanuel Adebayor is nothing more than a whisk carried by a G.S.U officer on patrol, in the sense that he comes in use when the the bullets are being reserved. Better still, like a gumboot who is only required if the conditions are appropriate.
Had he stuck to Arsenal, Adebayor would be a 'god' of football. He would be going into history as one of the greatest players from Africa.



Nasri and his girlfriend,  Tatiana Golovin. She plays tennis.
There you have it, rushing to leave this club has not always had positive outcome. Most have wished they hadn't, noting in case that those are only 5 examples of many. Nasri should be cautious lest he ends up in this list. The good thing with Arsenal is that, players are given a chance to define themselves. They are given a chance to mature and grow, including being given a chance for trial and error. Nasri should not be in a hurry to join Manchester United and should probably wait for atleast another season. In Manchester United, he will not only have Ryan Giggs attempt to lure his girlfriend to having an affair with him, (Can u believe that guy had an 8 year stint with his sister in law? Lord have mercy) but he may also start facing the end of his promising career. If he still wishes to be that great player like Zinedine Zidane, he should be signing that contract by now.

1 comment:

  1. exactly! Arsenal is where talent is made...I do not refute that but to a player of his age and time of career, he needs trophies to show! He needs a team that not only grows talent but wins things. Well, I agree that Manchester United is absolutely not his type but he needs to leave Arsenal to achieve what all players want!!

    ReplyDelete

please feel free to leave your comments.