Weather Tonight: 4°c Partly Cloudy Night Morning: 8°c Cloudy

Sport

Samir Nasri
Super Samir: Arsenal's French midfielder Nasri is confident his two goals in the win over United will kickstart the Gunners' season

Nasri says Wenger's Foreign Legion will get better

James Olley
10 Nov 2008


Samir Nasri today insisted the best is yet to come from Arsenal's young side after their 2-1 win over Manchester United.

The Gunners produced a resolute and determined performance to see off the European champions at Emirates Stadium despite missing a host of first-team regulars through injury and suspension.

Nasri scored twice as Arsene Wenger's team banished the memory of a disappointing week punctuated with no wins in three games.

And the 21-year-old firmly believes the Premier League title is within reach after the Gunners passed a huge test of their character.

He said: "Maybe we don't have the experience of Liverpool, United or Chelsea but we showed how mature we have become after last season and after the last few weeks.

"We showed we have a quality, technically, to win games like this one. Saturday was the greatest game of my career so far because of the rivalry between the two clubs and the performance. It is important to keep it going now. Mentally, we made a point by beating United. We know that the title could be achieved by the games against the big four and on Saturday we showed we can do it.

"With all the players coming back from injury, we are going to get better and better.

"We are back in it but we always thought we were in it anyway even before that game. We know our qualities, our strengths. We know what we can do and we can definitely achieve the title this season."

Six French players, including Nasri, started for Arsenal and that contingent have helped the man labelled 'the new Zidane' settle in England following his £15.8million summer move from Marseille.

He said: "It feels like a French team, the manager is French. We have got African players who speak French. There is a lot of French talking everywhere. In France we consider Arsenal to be the 21st team of Ligue 1.

"I think Wenger is one of the best in the world and it is a great honour for me to play for him."

Alongside Nasri in midfield, Cesc Fabregas enjoyed a quietly efficient afternoon and the Spaniard dismissed the recent criticism of the Gunners following defeat at Stoke and draws against Fenerbahce and Tottenham.

"In football there is always going to be talking about your performances," said the 21-year-old.

"We didn't win the last few games so we knew there was going to be some talk about Arsenal not being capable of winning anything.

"But we are professionals and we don't have to be affected by that sort of thing. We showed on Saturday we are a good team. We are not worse or better than last week, we just have to keep going."

Reader views (4)

 Add your view

If Wenger grabs 1 or 2 more players in January i think this will be a very positive move for the team and give us that added strength we need. My choice would be Veloso and Afellay. Veloso to back up Cesc, Diaby and Denilson and Afellay to replace Rosicky. For this season we have Gallas, Silvestre, Toure, Djourou and Song in defense, plus Senderos on loan. Adeyabaor, RVP, Bentdner, Vela & Eduardo for strikers. With he likes of Walcott, Nasri, Ramsey, Eboue and Wilshere all there to i think ity could be a good season for the Gunners in some shape or form.

- Paul Newman, Milton keynes, 10/11/2008 15:04
Report abuse

Great result & an excellent performance, especially from Samir Nasri. Hopefully, we will now go on a run & challenge the top two.

- Rob Gooner, North London, 10/11/2008 11:13
Report abuse

Great game on saturday,Nasri scored two great goals the second one was a screamer.Wenger has shown he is a great manager. Despite all the stick after Arsenals poor start,his tactics and team selection were spot on.With the way the season is panning out Arsenal are still in with an outside chance,and have proven that on their day they are capable of dispatching any team in the premiership. COME ON YOU GUNNERS!

- Jim Ex Pat,N1, thailand, 10/11/2008 10:44
Report abuse

Not all games against the big 4 (should be the other big three !) will be won. Besides, every game counts 3 points, even against Stoke and Hull.

- Aziz, KL, Malaysia, 10/11/2008 10:34
Report abuse


Add your comment

 

Terms and conditions Make text area bigger You have  characters left.

We welcome your opinions. This is a public forum. Libellous and abusive comments are not allowed. Please read our House Rules.

For information about privacy and cookies please read our Privacy Policy.


 

 

  • Chris Robshaw to captain England for rest of Six Nations Chris Robshaw Chris Robshaw will lead England for the rest of the Six Nations after winning his two games as captain
  • Thierry Henry set for final game for Arsenal against AC Milan Thierry Henry Thierry Henry will play his final game for Arsenal at the San Siro with manager Arsene Wenger wishing he could stay for longer
  • I've played at Wembley, thanks to the JLS boys Phillips Idowu Phillips Idowu exclusive: JLS are a cool bunch of guys, I've got all their albums and I've followed them closely since The...
  • Chelsea stars say 'get Guus ­Hiddink in now' Guus ­Hiddink Senior Chelsea players want Guus ­Hiddink to return to Stamford Bridge as manager and save the club's season
  • Robin Van Persie has score to settle on his return to big stage Arsenal players Arsenal striker was harshly sent off this time last year but a brilliant run of form since has put him in a perfect position to put his...
  • England's luck is in as Charlie Hodgson leads the charge Charlie Hodgson Fly-half never gave up on Test career and that spirit is serving the team well
  • Shed tears for taxpayers not Rangers fans Rangers Ibrox Patrick Barclay: Administration is no fun for any club but it is still a relatively easy way out for the owners and...
  • Sean Dyche delighted with Valentine's Day victory for hard-working Watford Craig Forsyth Watford boss Sean Dyche hailed the Hornets' team spirit as they made it 10 points from 12 to continue their upward movement in the...
  • Alan Curbishley is No1 choice for Wolves Alan Curbishley Alan Curbishley is due to be interviewed for the job of Wolves manager
  • Javier Hernandez ready to embrace Europa League Javier Hernandez It might be a Thursday night on Channel Five - but Manchester United's clash with Ajax does sound like a Champions League game
  •