Arsenal play host to Manchester City in the Premier League this afternoon, and one ex-player who represented both clubs will be rooting on one in particular after revealing where his loyalty lies
Samir Nasri has confessed that his heart lies with Manchester City – despite his time at Arsenal.
The Frenchman spent three seasons with The Gunners before parting ways with the Emirates for the Etihad in 2011, where he went on to lift two Premier League titles, a League Cup and a Community Shield. And while the 37-year-old may reflect on his time spent in north London with fondness, he has ultimately explained that he preferred his time with Manchester City.
Speaking during last season’s Champions League coverage, Nasri was asked who he sided with when the Cityzens go up against the Gunners. And he didn’t flinch when he responded in favour of City.
However, when asked to side with either City and his boyhood club of Marseille, he said with a wry smile: “Marseille, always Marseille.” Nasri came up through the youth ranks of the Ligue 1 giants in 2004, spending four years with the club before signing for Arsenal.
The central midfielder was a massive feature under Arsene Wenger, racking up 27 goals and 15 assists in 127 games while chasing Premier League glory. However, when he decided to part ways with the club in 2011, he left a sour taste in the mouths of many Arsenal fans – especially given that the Gunners had lost Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, and Gael Clichy around the same time.
Nasri ultimately signed a four-year contract with City at the time, to the tune of £25million – and later explained exactly why he made the decision to move on from the capital. He told The Telegraph in 2014: “This image of me being ‘materialistic’ is a French thing.
“People were envious. It’s fine. I really hesitated a long time. There was (Manchester) United. City wasn’t the big club it is right now. My agent told me, ‘Do you want to play in the big club, already with a big history (United), where you will be just one of them? Or play for Manchester City, who didn’t win the league for 44 years, where if you win the trophy, you can make history’.
“I said, ‘Oh, yeah, I want to make history’. In my first year, I won the league. I don’t have any regrets. Yes, economically I have a better life now than what I had at Arsenal. It’s normal. If I said to you tomorrow that there is another journal, as serious as your journal, offer you three times your salary, I think you are going to go there’. But my first motive was to win trophies.”
Nasri played in 30 Premier League fixtures during his maiden season at the Etihad, scoring five goals and providing nine assists as he helped guide the club to its first top-flight title in some 44 years. Under Roberto Mancini’s guidance, City finished the 2011/12 campaign on 89 points alongside their fierce rivals in Manchester United – but a better goal difference allowed the Sky Blues to lift the title.
Nasri’s journey with City came to an end in 2017, when he transferred to Antalyaspor in a £3.2m move. He spent just one year with the Turkish Super-Lig side, before stints with West Ham and Anderlecht. He retired from the world of football in September 2021.
It comes as Arsenal are set to play host to Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon. Under Mikel Arteta, second-place Arsenal will hope to bridge the gap between themselves and current league leaders Liverpool with a win on home soil.
The Gunners have been in outstanding form this season, and enter the fray undefeated in the league since their 1-0 defeat by Newcastle United back in November. City, meanwhile, have looked a far cry from their unstoppable selves this season, with 12 wins, five draws and six losses to show for their 23 games played.
Undefeated in the English top-flight since December, Pep Guardiola will hope to carry on the side’s emphatic run of form as of late – with a 3-1 win over Chelsea in their last fixture, as well as a 6-0 thrashing of Ipswich earlier in January working wonders for the outfit’s levels of confidence.
Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.
Learn more
The new shirt has returned the Gunners to their roots placing a stripped-down, elegant-looking canon right over the heart of the new shirt. Shirt manufacturers Adidas have produced a “clean and minimal” and the design “embraces modernity, while honouring Arsenal’s rich heritage.
