The real Samir Nasri finally stands up

Saturday was a bad day for Arsenal, there can be no disputing that. Few would have predicted that West Brom would have found themselves with a three goal lead, even after missing a penalty. Even though Arsene Wenger’s team are susceptible to off-days, a tie with Premiership new boys at The Emirates should yield three points.

Credit to the Baggies. Roberto Di Matteo has got his team playing good football, and often when teams stay true to their ideals, and try to come to The Emirates and play, they get done over, simply because Arsenal can do the same thing much better. However, as good as West Brom were, the Gunners were abject at best, with few positives to take from a terrible day in a usually slick office.

What was good to see for Arsenal fans, was the genuine emergence of Samir Nasri. In the absence of Cesc Fabregas, the neat Frenchman has taken it upon himself to add a creative thrust from central positions. Even in a squad with the talent of Arsenal, missing the likes of Van Persie, Vermaelen and Walcott, as well as their captain, will hit them hard, and it is up to those that remain to try to ensure those losses are not felt too hard.

Nasri has found himself shifted around the Arsenal midfield, depending on who is available and who isn’t. Often on the wing, or further up the field, and even as a DMC (although I considered this a mistake by Wenger at the time, not because he’s not a tough-tackling battler, but because his dribbling is wasted in such a deep role).

With Abou Diaby, and more significantly, Alex Song, providing cover for Nasri, he was free to link play and support Chamakh and Arshavin. Arsenal didn’t lose at the weekend because they struggled to link play, even when they do they are still better than most, but because of frailties in their back line. Clichy is still capable of making mistakes, and while I believe Squillaci and Koscielny will both prove to be good purchases, they are new to each other, and new to the Premier League. And as for Manuel Almunia, his incapability as a goalkeeper has already been documented and observed for all to see (Arsenal fans will feel they see it way too often).

Fabregas will return from injury – maybe in time for the trip to Stamford Bridge – and he will come straight back into the team as he should. I can’t help feeling however, that a little bit of what Nasri has to offer will be lost when he is shifted back wide. I’m not saying for one moment, that Fabregas should remain on the sidelines, but that it is unfortunate for Nasri himself, that he is most effective in the position where the club’s best player also plays.

I was one of the people who thought Arshavin would blow up when he hit the Premier League; decimate teams, but it hasn’t quite gone to plan. The big performances have not been as consistent as they should have been. For Arsenal fans, it is a reassuring thought that when their most potent weapon is out of action, the man taking his place is a supreme talent. Having just turned 23 there is still more to come from Nasri, and there are few better than Arsene Wenger to nurture that out of him.

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