Samir Nasri
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Samir Nasri | ||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Winger/Attacking midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Arsenal | ||
| Number | 8 | ||
| ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of June 17, 2008 | |||
Samir Nasri, born 26 June 1987 in Marseille, is a French international footballer, who currently plays for Arsenal as an attacking midfielder.
Early life
Nasri's grandparents moved to France from Algeria. His father is from Constantine and his mother is a native of Biskra. Nasri grew up in La Gavotte Peyret, in one of Marseille's tough northern suburbs. He often played on the streets, where in fact he learnt a majority of his skills. He used to play for the local gang team, but after much violence, his parents signed him up to the football club Pennes Mirabeau at the age of 8 years. He spent two seasons there before being scouted by Olympique de Marseille
Club career
Marseille
Nasri began playing with Marseille when he was 9 years old. He started playing in Ligue 1 in the 2004/2005 season at the age of 17, when he started 13 games and came on as a substitute in 11 games, scoring one goal. The next season got him experience in both the UEFA Cup (10 games; no goals) and the Intertoto Cup (one game; one goal). In the 2006/2007 season he scored his first goal of the year in Ligue 1 late in the season on April 29, 2007, when he started the match against Sochaux and helped his team to a 4-2 victory. This win allowed Marseille to climb into fourth place with just four games remaining, putting them into the UEFA Cup qualifying spot.
On May 20, 2007, Samir Nasri was named French Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year[1][2] ahead of Jimmy Briand and Karim Benzema. He was voted Marseille's player of the year by the fans, receiving 62% of the votes.
In mid-September 2007 Nasri was hospitalised after suffering from a meningitis-like virus. Nasri is renowned for his technical ability, passing and pace. He is usually used in the position of Right wing due to his speed and Skills.
Arsenal
Nasri recently signed for Arsenal from Olympique Marseille on a long-term contract for an undisclosed fee.
Samir granted his first interview to Arsenal.com shortly after arriving in England. Nasri will join up with Arsenal for pre-season training on July 21, 2008. He has been designated the Number 8 shirt for the 08/09 season, formerly worn by Ian Wright and Fredrik Ljungberg, and most recently worn by Lassana Diarra.
International career
He has been involved in the French national set up for a long time, progressing through the Under-16s, 17s, 18s, 19s and 21s. He won his promotion to the full national squad this year, to which he has been called up three times. Nasri scored his first senior international goal in his third appearance for the senior team in a 1-0 win for France against Georgia on June 6 2007 in a Euro 2008 qualifier.
He received his first cap for France on March 28 2007 against Austria, in a home friendly match at the age of 19. He delivered a free kick low into the box, and fellow team mate Karim Benzema scored the only goal of the match. He was named in Raymond Domenech's final squad for Euro 2008; at age 20, he was one of the youngest members of the French squad selected for the final tournament. He made two appearances as a substitute and played for 32 minutes. In the game against Italy, he replaced Franck Ribéry when Ribéry was injured, but less than 15 minutes after that, Domenech replaced him after Eric Abidal was sent off.
Previously, he was member of the France national under-21 football team. He has been part of the French national team system since he was about 14. He has won with the 2004 UEFA U-17 Championship as part of the France U-17 Football Team, scoring the game winning goal in the final match.
International goals
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | June 6, 2007 | Auxerre, France |  Georgia |
1-0 | 1-0 | Euro 2008 qualifying |
| 2. | November 16, 2007 | Saint-Denis, Paris |  Morocco |
2-1 | 2-2 | Friendly |
