Originally Posted by
Ice Berg Kamping
Well argued, but I disagree.
Re your point about not being offered an extension if he had had only 4 good months, prior to last season. Loads of Arsenal players have been offered contract extensions on the basis of potential, not consistent performances, and Nasri was no different. Prior to last Summer, he had shown flashes of brilliance, nothing more. And this is precisely why he was offered what he was offered - a figure that the player and his agents clearly thought could be bettered. I am inclined to take the side of the club on this one. We can't on the one hand slag AW and the board off for paying so-called 'underperforming' players who have never achieved anything with us too much, and on the other criticise them for not breaking the bank to give Nasri what he wanted last Summer. Common sense dictates that the club adopts the same standards in any contract negotiation - offer a fair price based on performance, and the recognition, in the majority of cases, that full potential has yet to be fulfilled.
I find it a bit strange that the inclination amongst many seems to be to side with the palyer who refused to sign last Summer, rather than the club who attempted to sign him. I for one see an obvious strategy in the Nasri camp, not to sign in the hope of bettering his money later. And like with Flamini, I am rather sceptical of a player who suddenly started playing to his potential immediately thereafter, only to switch off in February.
I don't buy the trophies thing, either. I have no doubt that Nasri wants to be part of a successful team, but I refuse to accept that this is his primary motivation. We were absolutely flying at the turn of the year - but did he engage in negotiations re the contract that had been offered him then? No. Keeping your options open is not the same as playing for trophies. Yes - any player who gets offered more money at a club with expectations of winning things will take it. But the fact that generally speaking the clubs with the big money are the sucessful ones shouldn't amount to this automatic 'defence' of the likes of Nasri.
As others have said, the 'ambition' argument is easier to take from players who have put real effort into achieving things with their current clubs. Nasri is not in the same boat at all here as TH14; Freddie; Vieira; Cesc. As for taking what Nasri says at face value...I'm afraid that it is plain naive to think that what any want away player says has not been orchestrated by his agent and PR team.
And I think that this defence that Nasri wasn't the only one who went off the boil last season rather misses the point too. For me, if you want to be the highest wage earner at the club, then you cannot look to everyone else, you have to be prepared to be the go to guy - the one that keeps going when others are fading. that's what justifies your price tag. If you are going to go missing when lesser players do, then you deserve to get paid what they get paid.
That is in my view why Nasri is being 'singled out'.
