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Samir Nasri

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Samir Nasri
Personal information
Full name Samir Nasri
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)[1]
Position(s) Attacking Midfielder, Winger
Team information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 8
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 14:47, 8 November 2008 (UTC)

Samir Nasri (born June 26, 1987 in Marseille) is a French international footballer of Algerian descent who currently plays his club football for the English Premier League side Arsenal. A naturally right-footed player, he generally plays on the left side of midfield for Arsenal.

Early life

Nasri's parents 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, one of Marseille's tough northern suburbs. He often played on the streets, where he learnt the 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. He spent two seasons there before being scouted by Olympique de Marseille.

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[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 addition, he was dubbed one of many as the "new Zizou" for his vision and dribbling skills.

Arsenal

On July 11, 2008 Nasri signed for Arsenal from Olympique de Marseille on a long-term contract for £12.7 million (€16m). He made his Arsenal debut on 30 July against VfB Stuttgart in Germany, playing for around 60 minutes in the friendly encounter. He scored on his Premier League début, against West Brom with a close range effort, after only four minutes of the first game of the season, on August 16, 2008. Although not yet confirmed by the club, it is believed to be the fastest goal ever scored by an Arsenal debutant.[3] On 27 August Nasri made his Champions League début in the 3rd Qualifying Round 2nd Leg against FC Twente, scoring in the 26th minute to mark his European debut the same way as he did with his league debut—with a goal. On 12 September, Nasri was rewarded O2/Arsenal.com Player of the Month.

Nasri then went on to score the equalizer against Everton with a great strike from 20 yards just before half time. He scored his first Arsenal brace against Manchester United on November 8, 2008, scoring a deflected shot just inside the box before powering another effort past the keeper from just outside the box, leading Arsenal to a crucial 2-1 win.

International career

Nasri has been involved in the French national set up for a long time, progressing through the Under-16s, 17s, 18s, 19s and 21s. He was part of the team that won the 2004 UEFA U-17 Championship, scoring the game-winning goal in the final match.[4] Nasri received his first cap for the senior team 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 from which teammate Karim Benzema scored the only goal of the match. He scored his first senior international goal in his third appearance for the senior team in a 1–0 win against Georgia on June 6, 2007 in a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier. Nasri 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.

Playing style

Nasri has been compared to Arsenal legend Robert Pirès by Arsene Wenger, who also described him as a quick and technically outstanding player with mobility and vision.[5][6][7]

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

Arsenal career statistics

(correct as of 8 November 2008)[8]
Season League Cup[9] Europe Total
Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists Apps Goals Assists
2008–09 8 4 1 0 0 0 3 1 0 11 5 1
Total 8 4 1 0 0 0 3 1 1 11 5 1

References

  1. ^ PFA Profile, givemefootball.com, accessed 5 November 2008.
  2. ^ Samir Nasri won Young Player of the Year at Sports Illustrated, sportsillustrated.cnn.com, accessed October 31, 2008.
  3. ^ Nasri opens Arsenal account, skysports.com, accessed August 18, 2008.
  4. ^ Châteauroux celebrates French win, uefa.com, accessed August 15, 2008.
  5. ^ Nasri agrees to join Arsenal from Marseille, arsenal.com, accessed August 18, 2008.
  6. ^ Wenger – Nasri has ingredients to succeed, arsenal.com, accessed August 18, 2008.
  7. ^ Wenger - Nasri has a bit of Pires about him, arsenal.com, accessed August 18, 2008.
  8. ^ Statistics, soccernet.espn.go.com, accessed October 30, 2008.
  9. ^ Includes FA Cup, League Cup and FA Community Shield.
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