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[h=1]Wenger ready to splash the cash and ease Arsenal crisis[/h] Published 23:01 21/08/11 By John Cross

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http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...asri-still-expected-to-go-article788811.html#

Arsene Wenger has finally been pushed into trying to make a dramatic splash in the transfer market.
Wenger has got bids of £15million and £20m-plus respectively in for Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila and Lille forward Eden Hazard. And the Arsenal boss is also going back for another crack at Everton defender Phil Jagielka, having already had two bids turned down.
Wenger still expects Samir Nasri to leave despite his £22m move to Manchester City being held up by a £3m row over agent's fees, as revealed by Mirror Sport last week.
But Wenger is clearly ready to spend big to try and ease the growing problems at the Emirates after a summer of frustration in the transfer market.

France international M'Vila is seen as a tough midfielder to provide physical strength alongside Jack Wilshere, although Rennes do not want to sell and have already knocked back one approach.
Hazard has been on Wenger's hit list for more than two years but again Lille do not want to sell and have rebuffed numerous approaches.
However, Arsenal are ready to test Lille's resolve with serious money and go for one of Europe's top prospects. Arsenal have already signed Gervinho from Lille this summer.
Wenger recognises the need for a centre half - especially after losing Laurent Koscielny to a back injury - and sees Jagielka as his first choice ahead of Gary Cahill.
Arsenal have had bids of £10m and £12m turned down for Jagielka with Everton reluctant to sell but they will want closer to £20m.
Arsenal have enquired about Cahill but, despite Bolton believing bids were imminent, have always backed off to further suggest Jagielka remains no1.
But Arsenal may be tempted to go back for Cahill if Bolton lower their £17m price as the window nears to closing. Birmingham's Scott Dann and Werder Bremen defender Per Mertesacker are other options.
England coach Fabio Capello backed Wenger, but said he needed to buy.
Asked if he thought Wenger should continue at Arsenal, Capello told Sky Sports': "I hope he will stay on, I have a good relationship with him, he's a really good manager, but it's not a good moment, it's difficult after six years without a trophy for such an important club like Arsenal.
"I think he needs to buy some new players.I think Arsenal have got money but it's difficult to find top players to improve the team."
Arsenal legend Robert Pires told Canal Plus: "The time has come for Arsene Wenger to think about investing the money from player sales into players with experience and more of a guarantee.
"I think other players have spoken with him and told him the same. The set-up has changed now.
"Before this, many players wanted to stay at Arsenal for a long time but this has changed now, too. Players leave now at their first chance.
"That goes for Clichy, Nasri and Eboue. Indirectly, Wenger is to blame. Unless new players come in and others stay then the problem will get worse.
"I don't think that they can rival the likes of Manchester City or Chelsea but you can't win just with young players."
Former Arsenal boss George Graham has also urged Wenger to spend and claims the club must invest to ensure finishing in the top four.
Graham said: "They need experienced, outstanding players and I think they need about another three in the side at the present time.
"They've got the money, let's sit down, get some of these players in he's supposed to be after and let's see if they can start winning trophies again.
"They have big signs at the club saying ‘Arsene knows'. Well I hope he does.
"I think he's going to be there this season. I think he's under a little bit of pressure just now from the fans.
"But I think Arsene, if he sits down and is honest with himself, he'll put it all back together again. But he needs to do some hard thinking.
"Please get the the cheque book out Arsene. I think they need another centre-half, I think they still need a strong, outstanding, experienced midfield and I still think they need an out-and-out striker like a (Thierry) Henry."

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[h=1]Juan Mata set to arrive in London for Chelsea medical[/h] Published 23:01 21/08/11 By Darren Lewis

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Juan Mata will arrive in London today for a medical with Chelsea.
Andre Villas-Boas last night took advantage of Arsenal's dithering by agreeing a £26million fee for Valencia's versatile attacker.
Mata, who has hit 36 goals in four seasons at the Spanish club, is set to sign a five-year deal at Stamford Bridge.
He could make his debut alongside Spain international team-mate Fernando Torres at home to Norwich this weekend.

Confirming the deal last night, Valencia said on their website: "Valencia Football Club has reached an agreement in principle with Chelsea FC for the transfer of the player Juan Manuel Mata.
"The agreement is subject to the relevant medical tests."
The news will delight Chelsea fans who watched their team struggle to beat West Brom at home at the weekend.
It will, however, increase the pressure on Arsene Wenger who had identified the rising star as a possible recruit months ago.
Mata quit Real Madrid for Valencia in 2007 and has emerged as one of their most important players, his form earning him a regular place in the Spain squad.
He was a part of the party which won the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and was also a key man this summer as Spain won the Under-21 European Championship in Denmark.
Humble, witty, intelligent... and he can play a bit. What Prem fans can expect from Juan Mata

 

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[h=1]Villa may offload flop midfielder[/h] Published 22:55 21/08/11 By James Nursey

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http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/tra...Jean-Makoun-to-Olympiakos-article788792.html#

Aston Villa boss Alex McLeish admits he may offload £6million flop Jean Makoun.
McLeish's predecessor Gerard Houllier signed the Cameroon midfielder from Lyon in January.
But Makoun, 28, has started just seven League games and is yet to feature this season under McLeish.
Villa are prepared to let Makoun leave either on loan or permanently with Greek outfit Olympiakos interested.

Asked about Makoun exiting the club, McLeish admitted: "It's possible but we wouldn't let anybody go unless somebody came in."
Villa have also made Luke Young, Carlos Cuellar and Habib Beye available as they earn £40,000-a-week and are in the final year of their contracts.
McLeish fancies Spurs' right-back Alan Hutton and West Ham midfielder Scott Parker, but has warned Villa's £80m wage bill is still too high.

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[h=1]Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur: Five things we learned[/h] Danny Welbeck merits his place as Manchester United's youngsters excel but Spurs need more in attack and more respect from Modric

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• • Daniel Taylor at Old Trafford
  • guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 August 2011 22.11 BST Article history
  
  Manchester United's Danny Welbeck rose to the occasion impressively against Tottenham. Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Reuters
  
  [h=2]1The kids are OK[/h]The average age of Manchester United's starting XI was 23. They had a teenager at centre-half and a 21-year-old at right-back. The man playing instead of Dimitar Berbatov was 21, the goalkeeper was half the age of the guy at the other end and the little fellow in the centre, trying to show that United can get by without Wesley Sneijder or any other superstar midfielder, was a 22-year-old starting his second senior match for the club. The young players acquitted themselves well, sometimes brilliantly. "It has been our way since Sir Matt Busby and his Babes," Sir Alex Ferguson said, and there was another hint from the manager that the club did not feel it necessary to spend any more money. "Don't fret about the transfer market, we have a good nucleus and the squad has time on its side to get better."
  [h=2]2 Luka Modric let Tottenham down by not playing[/h]Harry Redknapp seemed remarkably relaxed about Luka Modric's decision to rule himself out, which was strange because the Tottenham Hotspur manager was entitled to feel badly let down. His team played well in flashes but there were other moments when they missed Modric's ability to keep the ball, thread in the passes to the forwards and trouble the home defence. Even if Spurs had won, the underlying point is that this was selfishness in the extreme on Modric's part and a failure of his professional requirements. Modric is not the first player to become embroiled in a transfer struggle and declare that he does not feel in the right frame of mind to play, and neither will he be the last, but that doesn't make it OK.
  [h=2]3 Danny Welbeck justifies his place[/h]Wayne Rooney's new strike partner took his time to get into the match and there were moments in the first half when the ball would bounce back off his knee and his passing could be erratic. He looked a little dispirited in those periods but the better strikers tend to be the ones who do not dwell on mistakes or misses and, by the end, Welbeck is entitled to feel he justified his place, not just because of the goal that opened the scoring but what followed next. His attempt to beat Brad Friedel with an overhead kick was audacious enough but there was something truly delightful about the back-heel with which he left Anderson clear to score the second.
  [h=2]4 Spurs need more in attack[/h]The club are trying to sign Emmanuel Adebayor from Manchester City and, while the former Arsenal player can be guaranteed to bring baggage, it is easy to understand why Redknapp is not totally satisfied with his existing forwards. If there was one criticism of Tottenham's performance, it was that they lacked presence in advanced positions and, without Peter Crouch, did not have anyone close enough to David de Gea to unnerve him when balls came into the penalty area. Defoe looked like a player on the wane at times last season and his link-up play with Rafael van der Vaart is not as good as might be expected. Spurs scored five against Hearts in the Europa League last week but they struggled for goals at times last season and may do so again unless another forward is recruited before the transfer window closes.
  [h=2]5 Things go from bad to worse for Berbatov[/h]These are strange times for the man who finished alongside Carlos Tevez as the joint leading scorer in the Premier League last season but now finds himself as, at best, the fourth-choice striker at his club. For the second week running Ferguson preferred to partner Rooney with Welbeck and this time, when the substitutions were made, it was Javier Hernández who was introduced. The inside of Berbatov's mind is a complex place and one wonders how he is coping with the disappointments that have come his way since Ferguson lost faith in him towards the end of last season. All we can be certain of is that this is not what he would have imagined when Tottenham traded him for £30.75m three years ago and he became the most expensive player in United's history. Can Berbatov regain Ferguson's trust? Of course he can but, equally, there can be no guarantees he will not become even more marginal given that Ferguson has already stated he plans to give Michael Owen, currently injured, more games.
  
  

 

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[h=1]Samir Nasri misses Arsenal's Udinese tie after Arsène Wenger climbdown[/h] • Samir Nasri's switch to Manchester City moves closer
• French forward eager not to be cup-tied in Europe

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• David Hytner
• The Guardian, Tuesday 23 August 2011 Article history
  
  
  Samir Nasri was warmly received by Arsenal fans in the match against Liverpool but will miss the Udinese trip. Photograph: Michael Regan/Getty Images
  
  Samir Nasri will not travel to Italy on Tuesday for Arsenal's pivotal Champions League play-off second-leg tie against Udinese, after telling Arsène Wenger that he did not want to become cup-tied in Europe and see his proposed £22m transfer to Manchester City put in jeopardy.
  Wenger has been forced to accept Nasri's wishes and he has omitted him from the squad, despite his insistence at the weekend that he was ready and willing to select the midfielder for Wednesday's game as the most important thing was to qualify for the group phase of Europe's elite competition. Arsenal lead 1-0 from the first leg at the Emirates last Tuesday.
  Nasri has had his head turned by City and his desire to complete the transfer has only intensified since the weekend, when he played in Arsenal's dispiriting 2-0 home defeat by Liverpool on Saturday and City won 3-2 at Bolton Wanderers on Sunday to make it six points from an available six.
  It has been well documented that Nasri stands to earn much more money at City; he has turned down fresh terms of £90,000 a week at Arsenal and he could earn almost double that at City but he believes that his chances of winning trophies are better served by the move. The 24-year-old is also keen to enjoy a successful season with an eye on the European Championship with France at the end of it.
  Roberto Mancini, the City manager, who has made it clear that he has been unhappy at the delay in securing Nasri's signature, said after the Bolton game that, if Wenger played him against Udinese and, in the process, made him ineligible to play for City in the Champions League, then the deal would be off. Nasri, who did not play in the first leg because of a one-match ban that carried over from last season, was alarmed at Mancini's stance.
  Wenger's selection of Nasri against Liverpool had been a surprise but it illustrated the manager's determination to keep hold of the player, who has developed into one of the club's stars since his £15.8m arrival from Marseille in the summer of 2008. The Emirates crowd got behind Nasri against Liverpool, applauding him warmly when he went to take an early corner and chorusing his name later in the game.
  Wenger had said at the beginning of Arsenal's pre-season tour of east Asia that he was so desperate to retain Nasri for one more season that he would be prepared to lose him as a free agent at the end of it, when his contract expired and, in the process, write off a massive transfer fee. Nasri has made it clear that he will not sign a new deal at Arsenal.
  Nasri had told team-mates that he was relaxed about whether he stayed or departed this summer but his wish to leave has become concrete in recent weeks and, moreover, the Arsenal board have told Wenger that they will not write off such a huge loss on the player.
  The transfer has been close for some days, only to be held up by the fine details, chief among them the payments that are owed to the various agents and lawyers involved. Nasri's non-appearance in Italy will ensure that it remains likely to be completed.
  
  

 

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[h=1]Liverpool plan shock return for Craig Bellamy and eye Sebastián Coates[/h] • Reds happy to meet Manchester City forward's wages
• Anfield side also interested in Uruguayan defender

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• Andy Hunter
• The Guardian, Tuesday 23 August 2011 Article history
  
  
  Craig Bellamy finds himself unwanted at Manchester City. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/EPA
  
  Liverpool have moved ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City in pursuit of the towering young Uruguay defender Sebastián Coates and are ready to offer Craig Bellamy a sensational return to Anfield.
  The Wales international has been frozen out completely by Roberto Mancini at City but remains at the club on a £95,000- a-week contract. Bellamy's wage has surprisingly not deterred several Premier League clubs and Celtic from trying to prise the 32-year-old from the Etihad Stadium but Liverpool are willing to offer the striker a lucrative contract providing no transfer fee is involved.
  Bellamy, a boyhood Liverpool fan, spent one season at Anfield in 2006-07 but struggled to make an impact under Rafael Benítez and was sold to West Ham United for £7.5m after 27 appearances and seven goals. He was an unused substitute in the 2007 Champions League final defeat by Milan and was destined for the Anfield exit from the moment he attacked his then team-mate John Arne Riise with a golf club during a supposed team bonding exercise in Portugal.
  The striker could be joined at Anfield by Coates, the 20-year-old centre-half who was named best young player at this summer's Copa América where his performances for the tournament winners Uruguay – in the same team as Liverpool's Luis Suárez – increased interest from several Premier League clubs.
  As the Guardian revealed last month, scouts from Arsenal, City and Liverpool all monitored the 6ft 6in Coates in Argentina, with Arsenal also believed to have watched the defender playing for his club side Nacional, the champions of Uruguay, a dozen times last season.
  Liverpool, however, with the advantage of the Suárez connection, have emerged as Coates's most likely destination in the Premier League and could cost Fenway Sports Group, the club's owners who have already sanctioned a £110m recruitment drive this year, a fee of around £12m.
  Coates was linked with a £3.5m transfer to Porto in June following the collapse of a proposed move to the Brazilian side São Paulo but his rise to prominence at the Copa América has since inflated Nacional's asking price. The central defender is one of the most highly rated young players in the game and, despite his lack of experience at international level, his Spanish and British ancestry is likely to assist any application for a work permit.
  Liverpool are keen to strengthen their defence, especially after allowing Sotirios Kyrgiakos to join Wolfsburg on a free transfer. The Greece international could be followed out of Anfield by Alberto Aquilani, a target for Milan.
  
  

 

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• Sport
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• Liverpool

[h=1]Liverpool plan shock return for Craig Bellamy and eye Sebastián Coates[/h] • Reds happy to meet Manchester City forward's wages
• Anfield side also interested in Uruguayan defender

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• Andy Hunter
• The Guardian, Tuesday 23 August 2011 Article history
  
  
  Craig Bellamy finds himself unwanted at Manchester City. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/EPA
  
  Liverpool have moved ahead of Arsenal and Manchester City in pursuit of the towering young Uruguay defender Sebastián Coates and are ready to offer Craig Bellamy a sensational return to Anfield.
  The Wales international has been frozen out completely by Roberto Mancini at City but remains at the club on a £95,000- a-week contract. Bellamy's wage has surprisingly not deterred several Premier League clubs and Celtic from trying to prise the 32-year-old from the Etihad Stadium but Liverpool are willing to offer the striker a lucrative contract providing no transfer fee is involved.
  Bellamy, a boyhood Liverpool fan, spent one season at Anfield in 2006-07 but struggled to make an impact under Rafael Benítez and was sold to West Ham United for £7.5m after 27 appearances and seven goals. He was an unused substitute in the 2007 Champions League final defeat by Milan and was destined for the Anfield exit from the moment he attacked his then team-mate John Arne Riise with a golf club during a supposed team bonding exercise in Portugal.
  The striker could be joined at Anfield by Coates, the 20-year-old centre-half who was named best young player at this summer's Copa América where his performances for the tournament winners Uruguay – in the same team as Liverpool's Luis Suárez – increased interest from several Premier League clubs.
  As the Guardian revealed last month, scouts from Arsenal, City and Liverpool all monitored the 6ft 6in Coates in Argentina, with Arsenal also believed to have watched the defender playing for his club side Nacional, the champions of Uruguay, a dozen times last season.
  Liverpool, however, with the advantage of the Suárez connection, have emerged as Coates's most likely destination in the Premier League and could cost Fenway Sports Group, the club's owners who have already sanctioned a £110m recruitment drive this year, a fee of around £12m.
  Coates was linked with a £3.5m transfer to Porto in June following the collapse of a proposed move to the Brazilian side São Paulo but his rise to prominence at the Copa América has since inflated Nacional's asking price. The central defender is one of the most highly rated young players in the game and, despite his lack of experience at international level, his Spanish and British ancestry is likely to assist any application for a work permit.
  Liverpool are keen to strengthen their defence, especially after allowing Sotirios Kyrgiakos to join Wolfsburg on a free transfer. The Greece international could be followed out of Anfield by Alberto Aquilani, a target for Milan.
  
  

 

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[h=1]Arsenal agree terms with Manchester City for £22m sale of Samir Nasri[/h] • France midfielder to undergo medical in Manchester
• Poll: Is Nasri the final piece in the City jigsaw?

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• David Hytner
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 August 2011 14.15 BST Article history
  
  
  Samir Nasri, right, training with Arsenal shortly before a fee was agreed for his move to Manchester City. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images
  
  Samir Nasri is on the brink of completing a £22m move to Manchester City after Arsenal confirmed they have agreed terms for the transfer.
  Nasri, who has been linked with City all summer, trained with Arsenal on Tuesday morning but has been given permission to travel to Manchester this afternoon to undergo a medical and agree personal terms having told manager Arsène Wenger that he does not want to be included in the squad to play Udinese on Wednesday.
  It is understood Nasri, who joined Arsenal from Marseille in 2008 for a fee of £15.8m, will double his wages at City having rejected a new £90,000-a-week contract to stay at Arsenal.
  As his side prepared to fly to Italy on Tuesday afternoon, Wenger admitted Nasri's departure had come as another big blow having lost his captain to Barcelona last week. "The summer was very difficult because we had Cesc Fábregas and Nasri on permanent transfer negotiations and that is draining in the end," he said. "We lost two great players and that's a sad side of the story but at some stage it has to be over, because you want to focus on the future."
  Asked if this was the most challenging time he had faced at Arsenal, Wenger added: "I believe that's part of my job. I'm not at all destabilised by that. Overall, my job is to give my best to do well for my club and that's what I do with complete belief in the team and the players I have available. I think that's the best opportunity to show as well that we are good enough to fight for this club."
  Wenger denied that the decision to sell Nasri had anything to do with the timing of Wednesday's game. The French midfielder would have been cup-tied for Champions League football if he featured against Udinese. "You cannot think only about one game in the season and the decision had a logic but it is, of course, as well, a business interest. But, overall, what you want is that you have players who do not play and think they go the next morning. It's not ideal as well. So you want players who are completely committed to the long-term, to defend our chances."
  Asked if it was naive to think the Nasri deal could have been finalised sooner, Wenger said: "It's not naive, but what you forget maybe is that it doesn't depend only on us. We wanted to sort all these cases out very early after the summer, but it wasn't possible. And the pace is not only dictated by us, unfortunately."
  In July, Wenger had insisted that he would not have to sell either Nasri or Fàbregas. Wenger said: "Samir's situation is clear for me. He stays. We are in a [financial] position where we can say 'No', and we will … Imagine the worst situation, that we lose Fábregas and Nasri; you cannot convince people that you are ambitious after that."
  Nasri's move will put more pressure on Wenger to add to his squad though one of his primary targets, the Belgian playmaker Eden Hazard, is not for sale, according to his club Lille.
  The Lille general manager Frédéric Paquet told the BBC: "Eden will not be leaving this season. We are aware of interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe but we are not prepared to sell. He is very happy here, he understands our project and wants to stay for at least another year."
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]Is Samir Nasri the final piece in the Manchester City jigsaw?[/h] The Frenchman will add even more firepower to an attacking line-up that includes David Silva, Sergio Agüero, Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Mario Balotelli. Is City's team now complete?

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• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 August 2011 14.21 BST
  
  Samir Nasri will join Manchester City for a fee believed to be £22m. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images
  
  
  
  • 1. Yes
    2. No
  
  
  

 

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[h=1]Sir Alex Ferguson delighted with Manchester United's youngsters[/h] • Side with average age of 23 easily beat Tottenham Hotspur
• Cleverley, De Gea, Jones, Smalling and Welbeck impress

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• Daniel Taylor at Old Trafford
• The Guardian, Tuesday 23 August 2011 Article history
  
  
  Phil Jones, right, had a fine game for Manchester United in the centre of their defence. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP
  
  Sir Alex Ferguson eulogised his young Manchester United players after being informed the team that had beaten Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 was the second youngest side he had ever fielded in the Premier League.
  Ferguson's team had an average age of 23 years and one month and the manager believes it continues the principles that have been in place "since Sir Matt Busby and his Babes".
  Phil Jones, Chris Smalling, Tom Cleverley and Daniel Welbeck all excelled and Ferguson said: "It tells you we still believe in young players. All the fans appreciate that. This is what the club is all about. We have always had confidence to play young players and this group has such fantastic ability it forces you to play them really."
  Ferguson picked out Welbeck for special acclaim after the striker had opened the scoring with a header from Cleverley's cross before setting up Anderson with an exquisite backheel for the second goal.
  Welbeck had been chosen ahead of Dimitar Berbatov and Ferguson admitted the form of the younger player had left him with a selection dilemma now Javier Hernández has been allowed to return to action after the concussion he suffered on the pre-season tour to the United States.
  "If you look at Berbatov, Michael Owen, Chicharito [Hernández] and Wayne Rooney we have different qualities. You have to utilise all that and make changes as best you can. But the horrible part for me now is, with Chicharito back, what do we do? It is going to be a big problem."
  The United manager added: "He [Welbeck] has always had that ability but he has made slow progress because when he was growing up he had a knee-growth problem. It was a situation where we knew we had to wait for him. We put him on loan to Sunderland [last season] and that is when he became a man. He has grown up, and the lad has a great future.
  " Danny is a big, rangy, long-legged boy who can gallop really quickly. Once he gets his legs going he is quick. He is a good footballer and has a great attitude when he loses the ball. He has a great attitude to win it back."
  Ferguson was also impressed with his new, experimental defence and particularly encouraged by David de Gea's first clean sheet for the club. "David was very confident. He was excellent. He got a bit slack towards the end of the game but other than that he was very confident."
  This was Jones's first competitive start for United and Ferguson said the £16m signing from Blackburn Rovers had demonstrated he was "an absolutely fantastic young player."
  Chris Smalling was equally impressive and Ferguson added: "He had a marvellous season last year and he is showing more maturity. He has done a great job at right back. You'd think he'd played there all his life. We are pleased with all these players. They have all done well tonight and you cannot criticise any of them."
  
  

 

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• Sport
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• Luka Modric

[h=1]Harry Redknapp says Tottenham will offer Luka Modric a new contract[/h] • Spurs manager says Croatian will not join Chelsea
• Midfielder did not play in defeat by Manchester United

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• Daniel Taylor at Old Trafford
• The Guardian, Tuesday 23 August 2011 Article history
  
  
  Tottenham are confident of keeping Luka Modric despite continued interest from Chelsea. Photograph: Jed Leicester/Action Images
  
  Tottenham Hotspur have emphatically told Chelsea they will not change their mind about selling Luka Modric and are now in the process of putting together a new contract to help make up for denying the Croatian the move he wanted to Stamford Bridge.
  Harry Redknapp is urging the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, to make his peace with Modric after admitting the two men had "fallen out" over an occasionally acrimonious saga that led to the player pulling out of the 3-0 defeat at Manchester United on Monday night because, to quote his manager, "his head was not right".
  Redknapp believes the London club must now demonstrate to Modric how important he is to their plans and the Spurs manager spoke of his confidence that the supporters will eventually forgive the player for wanting to join a rival.
  "He will stay and we will move on," Redknapp said. "The chairman has made his mind up that he's not going to sell him and there's no point this late in the window because it's hard to get replacements and that won't help anyone.
  "The chairman has to sit down with him and have a chat. They fell out a bit over the first meeting. Daniel needs to tell him we want him, that he's important and a big player for us. We'll bring in players and if we show him we are an ambitious club you might find the boy will be OK. He's told me he will look at his contract in a month or two and said he's not going. It will be difficult for him to go back on that."
  That will represent a blow to Chelsea after offering around £30m for a player they have trailed all summer. Redknapp admitted Chelsea, whose initial bid was £22m, were "no longer offering derisory money" but refused to condemn Modric for pulling out of the trip to Old Trafford. "Let's be truthful, he wanted to go. He's had an offer and he knows what he could earn elsewhere and sees it as an opportunity to move. He's not been in the right frame of mind but we can't go on like that, we've got to get him playing.
  "He's had a little hamstring, nothing that bad, but he came to see me and said, 'Gaffer, my hamstring's a bit tight' and that he couldn't play. I said we needed him but he said he wasn't right."
  "It was a problem for us but I've said many times that you wouldn't meet a better boy. He's got confused by it all because I wouldn't think he's ever caused anyone a problem in his life before. Some players can handle it (transfer sagas) and say they're going otherwise they'll cause havoc. I know players that have done it: 'I'll cause havoc around the dressing room, you'd better let me go'. But he wouldn't cause anyone a problem."
  Redknapp went on to say Modric will probably play against Hearts in the second leg of their Europa League playoff on Thursday. "He will get on with his football. I am sure he will. He loves playing football and this has been totally out of character. He's a model pro usually. I haven't come across many better boys, he is an example to anybody.
  "Samir Nasri didn't get booed (when he played for Arsenal) on Saturday, and I don't think Luka will get booed. It is not an easy situation - if someone came along and said they will treble your wages you would find it hard to say no, and that is the situation the boy is in. If someone offers you £150,000 a week instead of £50,000 or whatever it's not easy, and you are going to have your head turned.
  "Arsenal have had this all summer with (Cesc) Fabregas and Nasri - Fabregas has gone and Nasri is likely to go - and it's not easy to keep people when they want to go. But the chairman is the man who will make the decision and, if anyone can pick him (Modric) up, I can. I have a great relationship with him, I really want to keep the boy and if we can keep him and add one or two that would be great.
  "The chairman is dealing with Manchester City about Emmanuel Adebayor and I would think there is every chance that will happen. He will be a good loan signing for us if we can get him but we need other players too."
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]Next generation of Manchester United stars ready to assume the mantle[/h] Sir Alex Ferguson has always trusted young players, but the exceptional current crop have left him with almost no option

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The Manchester United defender Phil Jones, right, is amongst those ready to lead the new-look side to success. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP

At 37, Ryan Giggs would still rather think of himself some days as more like an 18-year-old with 19 years' experience. But then he sees his younger Manchester United team-mates wearing their "mad clothes", listens to their conversations and cannot help but feel out of the loop sometimes. "It is when they start talking about computer games," he says. "They play something called Black Ops, it goes completely over my head."
The thirtysomethings at Old Trafford have all been watching from the sidelines recently. Giggs, the club's oldest player, has not started either of United's two league games and watched the Community Shield in his suit, not even selected among the substitutes. Michael Carrick has not played a single minute of the wins against West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur. Dimitar Berbatov has been restricted to 26 minutes over the course of three matches.
A theme has developed and, with it, there has been a discernible change behind the scenes. Voices that were rarely heard a year ago have become louder, growing in confidence. "A lot of the older players are no longer there," Sir Alex Ferguson says, "so we have a young element in the dressing room who are starting to take control of the place." The manager gives the impression he is enjoying this changing of the guard. "The young players have created a good spirit around the place. There is a perkiness about the dressing room."
The average age of the team against Tottenham on Monday was 23 years and one month, making it the second youngest side Ferguson had ever put out in the Premier League. The youngest was against Hull City on the final day of the 2008-09 season when United were preparing to play in the Champions League final and Ferguson fielded a team of reserves and academy graduates, with four players handed their first league starts and seven substitutes aged 17 to 21.
Monday was a very different occasion – the first home match of the season, difficult opponents, no Rio Ferdinand or Nemanja Vidic – and amid all the praise for the young players a certain amount should be kept back for the manager. It was he, after all, who had the conviction to play Tom Cleverley ahead of Carrick and Danny Welbeck instead of Berbatov. Another manager might have removed David de Gea from the side after his mistakes in the previous matches but Ferguson stayed calm, remembered Peter Schmeichel's early difficulties in England and decided he had to put his trust in a goalkeeper who, at 20, is half the age of the man he is replacing, Edwin van der Sar.
When Ferguson spoke after the match he gave the impression there had never been a single moment when he was worried how the team would cope without the assuring presence of Vidic and Ferdinand. It had always been his way to trust young players, he reminded us, but there had come a point with the current crop where they left him with almost no option. "This group has such fantastic ability," he said, "it forces you to play them, really."
Phil Jones is a case in point, a 19-year-old who gives the impression he is in his 10th year at Old Trafford rather than his 10th week. Sir Bobby Charlton and Paddy Crerand, team-mates from the European Cup victory of 1968, found themselves talking last week and decided they had already seen enough of Jones to pay him what, in United terms, is probably the ultimate compliment. "If you talk to Bobby Charlton," Crerand says, "Phil Jones reminds him of Duncan Edwards with his power and build."
Others will inevitably compare Jones, Cleverley, Welbeck and Chris Smalling with the last group of United players to come off the conveyor belt and create such a frisson of excitement. For now, however, it is probably better to think of the 1995 group of David Beckham, Nicky Butt, the Neville brothers and Paul Scholes (with Giggs a couple of years older) as a once-in-a-lifetime coming together. Cleverley is not Scholes and neither is it fair to expect him to be. But he is doing a fine job keeping Carrick out of the team and, in the process, has turned down the volume, a little, on those who cannot comprehend why the club have not brought in a new category-A midfielder.
Too much can be read into one game, of course. These are only the embryonic stages of the season and Welbeck, for one, can still look raw at times. He is, however, an elusive opponent and the back-heel with which he set up Anderson's goal against Spurs was an exceptional moment of penetrative forward play.
Then there is the emergence of Smalling – a player, like Jones, whose development means the Old Trafford crowd no longer needs to fret unduly about Ferdinand's injury problems. Plus the fact Rafael and Fábio da Silva, at the age of 21, did not even play on Monday. Anderson has already shown in flashes that he can have a productive season and, like Jonny Evans, is still young enough, at 23, to be regarded as promising. Ashley Young is 26, a year older than Wayne Rooney and two years older than Nani. Javier Hernández is another 23-year-old and could feasibly be at Old Trafford for the next decade.
Ferguson has been remarkably unselfish when it comes to putting into place a team that will still be around long after his tenure has ended. "We compete in the present but at the same time build for the future," he says. On both counts, United have reason for optimism.

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]Manchester City will not let their fringe players leave for free[/h] • 'All these players have a cost,' says Roberto Mancini
• Nigel de Jong refuses latest contract offer from City

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• Daniel Taylor
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 August 2011 22.29 BST Article history
  
  
  Emmanuel Adebayor is just one of a host of fringe players who Manchester City are trying to sell. Photograph: Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
  
  Manchester City insist they will not let their large cast of unwanted fringe players leave for nothing despite knowing that if they cannot find buyers for players such as Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bridge, Emmanuel Adebayor and Roque Santa Cruz they will lose millions of pounds in "dead money" via the extraordinary salary structure at Eastlands.
  The planned exodus began on Monday when Dynamo Kyiv confirmed they had agreed a £3.9m deal for Vladimir Weiss but City are having substantial problems shifting the other players who are now so far out of Roberto Mancini's plans that they train alone and are not even required to attend matches.
  Many of those players will have to take huge pay cuts if they are to revive their careers but Adebayor's proposed transfer to Tottenham Hotspur sums up the problems facing City, with the forward determined not to lose the £150,000-a-week salary he earns for doing nothing more than a few gentle workout sessions at City's training ground.
  Those figures are prohibitive for Spurs and, with City extremely reluctant to subsidise any part of the deal, the move is at an impasse as Adebayor, signed from Arsenal for £25m in the summer of 2009, continues to be excluded from the rest of Mancini's first-team squad.
  The issues regarding these players can largely be traced back to the early part of the Abu Dhabi United Group's ownership when transfer targets recommended by Mancini's predecessor, Mark Hughes, were offered huge salaries to join the club. Those players have subsequently fallen out of favour under Mancini but their wages put them out of reach of potential buyers.
  Bellamy earns a weekly figure of £95,000 and Celtic are the only club to have held significant talks about signing the striker before the transfer window closes at the end of the month. Bellamy, like Adebayor, has said he will not accept a lower wage and, unless something changes, could conceivably be left in the wilderness at City – paid millions of pounds but not even welcome to join in on the practice pitches.
  Wayne Bridge is in a position of even greater uncertainty. The former England international left-back earns £90,000 a week yet is rarely seen at City these days. Apart from an inquiry from Newcastle United earlier in the summer, there has been virtually no interest from other clubs. Bridge could conceivably have to slash his wages by more than 50% to tempt any potential buyers.
  City can expect to receive only a fraction of the fees they paid for these players but Mancini says the club will not contemplate letting them leave for free just to reduce their wage bill. "All these players have a cost," he said. "They are good players and, if there is a club that wants one of them, they must pay. I don't understand why we should have to pay a lot of money for them and others don't."
  Shaun Wright-Phillips is a slightly different case on the basis that he is still allowed to train with Mancini's squad and his contract was agreed under the days of Thaksin Shinawatra's ownership, shortly before the Abu Dhabi takeover. Nonetheless, he still has a handsome £60,000 weekly salary, which potentially puts him out of the range of the clubs trying to sign him.
  Bolton Wanderers have agreed a £2.5m fee and Wright-Phillips has already visited the club's training ground to have a look at their facilities but, again, it would require him taking a substantial drop in wages. Stoke City, Queens Park Rangers, Wigan Athletic, West Bromwich Albion all want to sign the winger, and Lazio have also contacted City.
  Santa Cruz, who has earned around £8m in wages but started only eight matches, scoring four times, since signing from Blackburn Rovers for £18m two years ago, has attracted offers from Real Betis and Rayo Vallecano, both newly promoted to the Spanish top division.
  The availability of the defender Nedum Onuoha has brought him to the attention of several Premier League clubs, including QPR, and he has employed Carlos Tevez's adviser, Kia Joorabchian, to help him find another club. Joorabchian has also become involved with the Dutchman Nigel de Jong, a key player who has just rejected the terms on offer for a new contract.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]José Mourinho forced to deny TV claim he is leaving Real Madrid[/h] • Mourinho agent retracts comments and blames subterfuge
• Portuguese feels isolated after shame of Camp Nou

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• Sid Lowe in Madrid
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 August 2011 18.02 BST Article history
  
  
  Real Madrid's José Mourinho has been the victim of a vindictive hoax, according to his spokesman. Photograph: Manu Fernandez/AP
  
  José Mourinho stood at the centre of yet another controversy on Tuesday when the Portuguese manager was forced to deny he was about to leave Real Madrid despite his official spokesman supposedly suggesting he was unhappy and planning to quit.
  Eladio Paramés, who speaks on Mourinho's behalf, was earlier reported to have told a Spanish TV station, via text message, that Mourinho was to walk away. Yet he quickly denied the quotes with the somewhat unconvincing explanation that an imposter had been using his mobile phone.
  Picking through the rubble as the fallout continued into the afternoon, it was not clear if this was a genuine misunderstanding, a sneaky plot, or a moment's indiscretion come back to haunt the Portuguese manager's camp, yet it still prompted Mourinho into making a statement on the club's website. "There is no way I'm leaving. No way," he said.
  Canal+ TV broke the news in the morning. It cited text messages from Paramés's phone, sent as the channel sought to arrange an interview with the Real Madrid manager. According to the broadcaster, the messages said Mourinho felt that he did not have the backing of the Madrid board of directors and, pending meetings with them, was contemplating a press conference to announce his resignation. The channel said it had been given permission by Paramés to release the information – this was not an off-the-record briefing but something Mourinho's camp wanted in the public sphere.
  The revelation came in the aftermath of the Spanish Super Cup defeat to Barcelona, during which Mourinho poked the Barça assistant coach Tito Vilanova in the eye. The Spanish Football Federation's disciplinary committee has confirmed it will investigate the events at Camp Nou and that Mourinho may face a ban of four to 12 games or six to 15, depending on which of two possible charges is brought against him.
  Since the Super Cup, Mourinho has been the focus of strong criticism from the media and Barcelona officials. Madrid's president, Florentino Pérez, has stayed silent, choosing neither to defend his coach nor censor his actions.
  In the aftermath of that match, the Spanish newspaper Marca claimed that Mourinho was "sorry" for what had happened – the story had come via a briefing from the club's presidency. On Sunday, though, Paramés said Mourinho had nothing to be sorry for. On Tuesday morning Paramés appeared to be suggesting that, far from saying sorry, the Portuguese felt unprotected and was set to walk away.
  Soon after, however, Paramés complained that the mobile from which the text message was sent was a pay-as-you-go phone that he had bought soon after Mourinho joined Madrid, but which he had stopped using. He said he had left the phone in a drawer and that someone must have used the number and pretended to be Mourinho's spokesman.The question now is what was behind this bizarre series of events. Had Paramés, not for the first time, spoken out of turn and then been forced to into a desperate act of damage limitation? Was this a clever ploy to force Madrid's hand, sow the idea that he is not happy, and seek to provoke the fans' support at Wednesday night's Santiago Bernabéu trophy?
  Or had someone really taken Paramés's mobile from his house, pretended to be Mourinho's official spokesman and exchanged text messages with Canal Plus?
  [h=2]Letter from José Mourinho[/h]"Only those who don't know me can dream, make up or believe I may leave Real Madrid at this stage…
  "I believe many people were surprised by the quality football showcased by Real Madrid during the preseason and it would be surprising news to them if I left the club now. Impossible!
  "I have a fantastic president who is very intelligent and with whom I have a great friendship. I also have a director general who works for the club 24 hours a day, so my motivation is enormous and my Madridismo is even greater than that of some pseudo-Madridistas…
  "There is no way I'm leaving. No way!
  "I also wish to apologise to Madridistas, and only to them, for my attitude in our last game. Some people are better adapted to the hypocrisy in football than I am, and they hide their faces and speak in whispers deep inside tunnels.
  "I'm not learning to be a hypocrite, and I don't want to.
  Best wishes to all. We'll see each other tomorrow at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium."
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

• Sport
• Football
• Internazionale

[h=1]Samuel Eto'o in £21.8m move from Internazionale to Anzhi Makhachkala[/h] • Cameroon striker will earn £17.9m a year after tax
• Three-year deal makes him world's highest-paid player

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• Press Association
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 23 August 2011 18.14 BST Article history
  
  
  Samuel Eto'o kisses his jersey after scoring for Internazionale during the Serie A match between Inter and Lazio in April. Photograph: Luca Bruno/AP
  
  Anzhi Makhachkala have reached an agreement with Internazionale to sign the Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o in a three-year deal that is expected to make him the world's best-paid player.
  Reports in Italy say the Russian club will pay Inter €25m (£21.8m) for the 30-year-old forward and he is set to earn €20.5m (£17.9m) after tax per season.
  Anzhi said: "Today an agreement was reached between the football clubs, Anzhi and Inter, for the transfer of Samuel Eto'o. The terms of the transfer are completely agreed on both sides.
  "Anzhi expresses gratitude to the leadership of Inter Milan for their professional and constructive approach in the negotiations. Tomorrow the player will undergo a medical examination, following which the player will be awarded a three-year contract. On Thursday Samuel will arrive at the location of his new team and will begin preparations for the match against FC Rostov."
  Anzhi's market consultant, German Tkachenko, led a delegation from the Russian club, who met their Inter counterparts on Tuesday to thrash out the deal.
  Eto'o scored 21 goals in 35 Serie A appearances for Inter last season, having helped Barcelona to Champions League wins in 2006 and 2009, scoring in the finals against Arsenal and Manchester United.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]The greatest disallowed goal of all time?[/h] Edinson Cavani saw his scintillating bicycle kick scratched off against Barcelona. But which do you think is the best (n)ever?

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Barcelona defeated Napoli 5-0 in the pre-season Joan Gamper Trophy at Camp Nou on Monday, Cesc Fábregas opening the scoring and Leo Messi knocking in a 15-minute second-half hat-trick. But it could all have been so different for the Italians.
After just 10 minutes Marek Hamsik nodded across goal and Edinson Cavani sent a thunderous overhead kick past José Manuel Pinto in the Barcelona goal, rattling in the effort off the underside of the bar. The celebrations were short-lived however – Hamsik had been flagged offside in the build-up.
The Uruguayan's effort joins the ranks of the very best goals-that-never-were. Kevin Keegan's similarly acrobatic effort for Southampton against Manchester United in 1981 was ruled out by the referee, as was Cristiano Ronaldo's sensational effort for Portugal against Spain last year (blame Nani for that one).
Then there's the goals that the officials failed to spot – Gonzalo Bazan's screamer for Independiente Rivadavia that bounced back off the stanchion and, of course, Clive Allen's thumping free-kick for Crystal Palace in 1980 (as recreated by Baddiel and Skinner) – and the ones you wished were given: George Best flicking the ball away from Gordon Banks in 1971 and Peter Schmeichel's last-minute overhead kick. And then there's the whole sub-section of great near misses.
Does Cavani top the list? And which ones have we missed?

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]Sotirios Kyrgiakos leaves Liverpool for Wolfsburg[/h] • Greece international signs two-year contract
• Defender had fallen out of favour at Anfield

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• Press Association
• guardian.co.uk, Monday 22 August 2011 18.49 BST Article history
  
  
  Sotirios Kyrgiakos has joined Wolfsburg from Liverpool on a two-year contract. Photograph: Tim Hales/AP
  
  Liverpool have confirmed that the defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos has joined Wolfsburg. The Greece international has signed a two-year contract with the German club after leaving Anfield on a free transfer.
  "Liverpool FC this afternoon confirmed that Sotirios Kyrgiakos had left the club and joined Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg," a statement on Liverpool's website read.
  Kyrgiakos made 49 appearances for Liverpool after joining the club from AEK Athens in the summer of 2009. The 32-year-old made 28 of those last season although his first-team opportunities were reduced when Kenny Dalglish returned as manager.
  Kyrgiakos revealed he was looking forward to returning to Germany after spending two season at Eintracht Frankfurt from 2006 to 2008. "Wolfsburg are a good club. They won the championship in 2009," he told the club's official website. "I'm here to play and I would like to play every game. I am fit and ready, but the coach decides when and if I get to play."
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

• Sport
• Football
• Chelsea

[h=1]Chelsea to up Alvaro Pereira offer amid Florent Malouda speculation[/h] • Chelsea to increase initial £16.6m bid for Porto defender
• Juventus general director claims interest in Malouda

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• Dominic Fifield
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 August 2011 23.45 BST Article history
  
  
  Chelsea's Florent Malouda has interested Juventus, with the Blues preparing a second bid for Alvaro Pereira. Photograph: Jonathan Brady/EPA
  
  Chelsea are to lodge an improved bid for Alvaro Pereira after Porto rejected an opening offer of £16.6m for the Uruguay international, with the Londoners considering selling Florent Malouda to Juventus for a knockdown fee as they continue to reshape their squad.
  Pereira, who can operate on the left of defence or midfield, would be a direct replacement for the departed Yuri Zhirkov at Stamford Bridge following the Russian's sale to Anzhi Makhachkala. Porto have already signed the 25-year-old's replacement, Alex Sandro, at the Estádio Dragão but will still seek a fee closer to the £26m release clause in the South American's contract.
  Chelsea are confident that the player will be reunited with André Villas-Boas before next Wednesday's deadline, though – with the Spain international Juan Mata having now completed his £23.5m arrival from Valencia on a five-year deal – Pereira's signing would necessitate the trimming of the squad to comply with the Premier League's 25-man rule. Yossi Benayoun is effectively available for transfer but, at present, Malouda appears the likeliest first-team player to move on.
  The France international scored Chelsea's winning goal against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, but his desire to be offered a contract extension to 2014 – expressed publicly this summer – has not prompted a response from the club, with reports in Italy suggesting Chelsea are ready to offload the 31-year-old, a £13.5m signing from Lyon in 2007, to Juventus for as little as £5m. The Italian club's general director, Giuseppe Marotta, was quoted on Wednesday night claiming the Frenchman was "definitely an interesting player", with the club seeking to complete their transfer business ahead of the start of the Serie A season.
  There remains the scope for further departures from Stamford Bridge. Slobodan Rajkovic has completed a £2m move to Hamburg on a four-year deal, while the Brazil centre-half Alex has also attracted interest at Juve and the England Under-21 international Ryan Bertrand may seek first-team football elsewhere. Yet Chelsea still aspire to securing Luka Modric from Tottenham Hotspur before next week's deadline despite Spurs' position appearing increasingly entrenched on a player who has five years to run on his contract at White Hart Lane.
  Harry Redknapp suggested on Wednesday night that he would ideally like to play the Croatia international for "an hour" in Thursday evening's Europa League play-off second leg against Hearts, though the 25-year-old did not train with his team-mates at Chigwell on Wednesday and is still apparently troubled by a tight hamstring. Regardless, the Spurs chairman, Daniel Levy, remains adamant that a sale will not be countenanced and, if the player misses Sunday's visit of Manchester City, he will not be released for Croatia's Euro 2012 qualifiers against Malta and Israel.
  "The chairman made another statement on Tuesday night that Luka is definitely not going," said Redknapp. "He spoke to Chelsea and said: 'Let's put an end to this because it is not going to happen.' If that is the case, there is no movement and he is going to stay. We want him here and the chairman will sit down with him in the next couple of weeks and look at his contract. If there's something we can do we will do it. He's not for sale."
  That stance was outlined with an acceptance that Modric will find it difficult to accept his chances of moving to Stamford Bridge and competing in the Champions League, as well as "trebling his salary", according to Redknapp, over the coming months. "He is going to be sitting there every week thinking he could be winning with them in the Champions League, or competing with them for the title, and earning £100,000 a week more," added Redknapp.Redknapp recognised that it would be hard for Modric to deal with missing out on a move to Chelsea. "The rewards he would get there would be incredible, and that's not easy for him. None of us know how he will feel. What is in his head, who knows?
  "But if he is not going to go then he has to get on and play football. There is nothing you can do. We are not going to give the type of money that he could earn at Chelsea, that cannot happen here, but he has to get on with it for his own good. He has to be the player that we all know he is and have a great season. The chairman has made his mind up and is not going to let him go. That will be it."
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]Arsène Wenger makes £22m bid for Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila[/h] • Offer shatters Arsenal's transfer record for incoming player
• Holding midfielder established as a regular for France

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• David Hytner
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 August 2011 23.39 BST Article history
  
  
  Arsenal have made a bid of £22m for Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila, right. A £15m bid for the player has been rejected. Photograph: Thomas Bregardis/AFP/Getty Images
  
  Arsène Wenger has made a bold statement of intent by offering £22m to Rennes for the holding midfielder Yann M'Vila.
  The Arsenal manager has consistently promised to make signings during what has been a testing summer only to struggle to find value in the market. But he appears to have concluded that he must pay over the odds for the right player and M'Vila, who has established himself as a regular for France, fits the bill.
  Wenger has already had a £15m bid rejected for the 21-year-old and his latest offer would shatter Arsenal's transfer record for an incoming player. M'Vila is under contract until 2015. Wenger needs to reinforce his midfield, following the sales of Cesc Fábregas and Samir Nasri, and he has also tracked Eden Hazard of Lille.
  He wants to strengthen in central defence, too, and he is interested in Everton's Phil Jagielka, Bolton Wanderers' Gary Cahill and Birmingham City's Scott Dann.
  
  

 

[Rutashubanyuma]

[h=1]Samir Nasri has a swipe at Arsenal fans after City deal goes through[/h] • Nasri doubles wages on four-year contract in £24m move
• 'Arsenal fans are not that passionate at the Emirates'

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• Daniel Taylor
• guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 24 August 2011 21.11 BST Article history
  
  
  Samir Nasri greets the fans at Manchester City after he completed his £24m move from Arsenal. Photograph: Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images
  
  Samir Nasri concluded his £24m move to Manchester City declaring that he had joined "the club of the future" before making a reference to Arsenal's supporters that will only increase the sense of acrimony surrounding the transfer.
  Nasri, who has signed a four-year contract, admitted he had become "frustrated" at Arsenal and said he is looking forward to playing at a stadium with a better atmosphere than the Emirates.
  "The City supporters are really passionate and it reminds me of [playing for] Marseille," Nasri said. "Arsenal have good fans but they are not that passionate since they moved from Highbury to the Emirates. The crowd at City are amazing and that's what you want as a player – a good atmosphere."
  Nasri has roughly doubled his wages and the 24-year-old, in contention to make his debut in Sunday's game at Tottenham Hotspur, said it was "a big relief" to have finalised all the drawn-out negotiations.
  "In France they are already calling Manchester City 'Galácticos' like they did with Real Madrid when they had [Zinedine) Zidane," he said. "It was a long, long negotiation between the two clubs but I'm a City player now and that's what I wanted from the start."
  Nasri, their fifth and almost certainly final summer signing, was targeted after Barcelona had beaten them to the signature of Alexis Sánchez from Udinese, but Roberto Mancini's interest in the France international dates back to when he was manager of Internazionale five years ago and the player was still in France.
  "He's a fantastic player," the City manager said. "I knew of him when he was at Marseille but in the last few years, playing in the Premier League, he has improved a lot. He has technique, mentality … he's similar to David Silva, but the difference is he [Nasri] can play in the middle, too. He's young, he can score goals, make assists – it's fantastic for the club."
  Nasri received a welcome phone call from the chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, after arriving at Eastlands, and the player revealed he had spoken at length over the summer with Patrick Vieira, the former Arsenal captain now working as City's football development executive.
  "He made a big difference because he's a legend in France. Everyone loves him and respects him and when a player like that is telling you Manchester City is the place to be because they are the club of the future, that they want to win everything and have a big project, you have to listen."
  The admission of what, in effect, appears to be tapping-up from Vieira is unlikely to ease the bad feeling that has been left behind at Arsenal at the end of a summer-long saga that began with Arsène Wenger declaring the player would not be sold.
  "I was a little frustrated because I'd told the manager I wanted to leave and I wanted to do the whole pre-season with Manchester and get to know my team-mates," Nasri continued. "I was a bit frustrated but today is a big day for me. It's a new start and I'm looking forward to it. Even the weather was nice when I arrived. I don't see the difference from London and I am here to play football, to enjoy it and win the title."