SPEAKING TO THE Guardian’s Daniel Taylor after his team’s 3-2 defeat of Bolton Wanderers yesterday, Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini expressed alarm at Arsène Wenger’s claim that he “wouldn’t worry” about picking Samir Nasri to face Udinese in the second leg of Arsenal’s Champion’s League qualifier on Wednesday.
Should the Frenchman represent Arsenal in Europe this week, even if the London club were to miss out on qualification for the tournament’s group stages, he would be cup-tied for the remainder of the Champion’s League.
For City, who hope to finalise a £25m deal to secure the midfielder’s services at some point over the next 48 hours, such a decision could jeopardise their interest in completing the transfer.
“If he plays in the Champions League [for Arsenal] it is a big problem. I don’t know [if we would still sign him]. I’m sure we can close the deal. But it’s a problem because we have followed Nasri for 40 days and it’s important we take him. Also, for Nasri, I think it will be important [for him] to play in all the Champions League.”
Perched atop the table after a convincing start their Premier League campaign, Manchester City will be looking for Nasri to augment an already formidable attacking line-up.
