Samir Nasri was regarded as the next Zinedine Zidane when he was a young and upcoming player at Marseille. His career went to new heights after joining Arsenal a few years ago, while he has become an even better player after joining Manchester City. However, he certainly struggled last season under the management of Roberto Mancini, whose hard-line stance did not help him get form. It was even suggested that Nasri would be sold in the summer if Mancini stayed at the club. However, it was the manager who left and Nasri has since become an integral part of the City team under Manuel Pellegrini.
They have been challenging for the title since the start of the campaign and they already have one title in the bag. The Capital One Cup success was largely down to the individual brilliance of Nasri, who scored just moments after Yaya Toure equalised against Sunderland. Nasri has scored only four goals, but he has created six assists in the 26 league appearances he has made for City this season. Despite this good run of form, Nasri has been overlooked for the recent international matches by France manager Didier Deschamps.
The 26-year-old is also pessimistic about his chances of making it into the World Cup 2014 squad.
“I want to wear this shirt but if I do not go to the World Cup it will make it two I have missed. At the moment I am rather pessimistic than optimistic so far. I was not part of the last friendly against the Netherlands and it was the last call before the World Cup group being named and I didn’t get any explanation. But if I don’t go to the World Cup, it will be because of my inadequate performances in the national team rather than my behaviour,” said Nasri.