Nasri to sign? Ramsey to follow?
Add comment May 29th, 2008
The Telegraph claim that Samir Nasri completed his move to Arsenal late last night, shortly after being named in the 23-man France squad for the European Championships. That would tie in with information I recieved suggesting the signing would be announced today.
Truth be told, the deal’s been done for a week: only the dotting of the ‘i’s in Nasri’s signature remained. Whenever the announcement comes, it can only be anticlimactic after the way it’s dragged on. Still, we shouldn’t forget what a good signing this looks to be. In brief new, another Frenchman we’ve been linked with a lot in the past two years, Yoan Gouffran, is on the verge of joining Laurent Blanc’s Bourdeaux.
The Guardian reports that Arsene has already moved on to other targets, with Cardiff’s Aaron Ramsey the subject of a £5m bid. Apparently the structuring of the deal was unattractive to Cardiff, so we will return with another offer. The interest in Ramsey is absolutely genuine, as revealed to you by Gunnerblog, so don’t be surprised if these kinds of stories continue throughout the Summer.
There are some comments from Hleb floating around saying that he didn’t say he wanted to leave the club. Which is true. The man he pays to represent him said he wanted to leave the club. I’m not going to publicise what I find quite an irritating plea from Hleb with a quote.
Robin van Persie, meanwhile, can sympathise with Hleb’s plight:
“If you are 27 or 28 I can understand that you would make the decision to go elsewhere if you can earn three or four times as much. If that sort of money was also paid at Arsenal I’m sure that person would stay.”
I think rationally even the most hardened Arsenal fan can understand the lure of literally doubling or trebling your wages, but it remains the case that those comments from Van Persie are rather injudicious.
Who knows – with Inter sacking Roberto Mancini last night, maybe Hleb will be forced to change his plans and stay…
By the end of the day, we might have signed someone (who isn’t a physio). Contain your excitement, children.
