Last summer, Arsene Wenger suggested he was unconcerned regarding Samir Nasri’s contract situation at Arsenal. At that point, both Nasri and Wenger had reached a verbal agreement that Nasri will sign a contract extension by October 2010.
The Arsenal board however, failed to follow up on the verbal agreement between Wenger and Nasri and as the season progressed, no written contract was presented to Nasri nor his agent to tie the midfielder to the club.
The actions of Peter Hill-Wood and the board is likely to have angered Samir Nasri, who is again linked with a move to the Eastlands after Wenger suggested yesterday that he is unsure of the Frenchman’s future.
“It is not completely sorted that Samir will stay, but I want him to stay. He knows that. Hopefully we can sort that out in the coming weeks.” said the Arsenal manager.
Whether the Arsenal board had made the mistake of trusting a player with words or not, it is undoubtedly gross incompetence by the staff at Arsenal and not for the first time as comparisons are drawn with the Flamini situation that saw him seal a move to Italian giants AC Milan.
And there is sure to have been some manner of heated exchange at some point between the board members and Wenger over the future of his midfielder. Wenger rates Nasri among the top midfielders in the world and looks upon him as a key to Arsenal’s success as Barcelona continue to pursue interest in Fabregas.
It may seem elementary business conduct to produce written contract once there has been a verbal agreement, but chairman Peter Hill-Wood and Arsenal Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis are likely to brush off the blame onto Nasri’s loyalty issues.
The coming weeks will be crucial in shaping Arsenal’s coming season. Arsene Wenger remains confident that he can hold on to the talented midfielder although Samir Nasri may have already made up his mind.
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