Samir Nasri feels Old Trafford has lost its aura
Earlier this week, Patrice Evra was seen making his voice heard over the media in the build up to one of Premier League’s oldest rivalries. This time however, it was an Arsenal player turning up the heat with a perfectly measured return pass to the United
fullback in the war of words.
Samir Nasri believes that Manchester United are no longer the team that they used to be a couple of seasons ago. He stressed upon Old Trafford no longer being a home fortress for the Red Devils.
“For me, United is not the same team as before,” claimed the Arsenal man. “With Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tévez it was a little bit scary to play at Old Trafford. Now I don’t think offensively they are the same as before.”
The Frenchman might have a point here; perhaps, to a little drastic extent, his views might arguably coincide with Wayne Rooney’s wish who himself urged his manager to sign players this term as part of his decision to extend his contract with Manchester
United.
However, there has been change in both squads for the best part of the previous 5 years. Arsenal vs. United matches used to be heated encounters that often saw the managers and players alike not missing an opportunity to have a go at the other. With such
a radical change in personnel, it was argued that old rivalries might die with the previous crowd (Vieira v Keane anyone?) but things have certainly not changed. Patrice Evra’s dismissal of the team as a mere ‘training ground’ did not go down that well with
Arsenal players who would be looking to seek retribution on the pitch this Monday.
When asked to comment on the views of his countryman, Nasri simply added that it was better left to what shall conspire on the Old Trafford pitch. The Arsenal number 8 concluded that the team was willing to showcase their maturity on the field and effectively
let their football do the talking.
Following up the views from the Arsenal attacking midfielder, Bacary Sagna was asked to share his views on the word assault by his French international teammate.
“Patrice likes to heat things up, it’s in his nature. It leaves me neither hot nor cold. It’s just important that we concentrate on the game.”
Taking the sensible route out of the predicament might as well be in Arsenal’s best interest. The home side will be bolstered by Rio Ferdinand who is expected to be back from injury along with Paul Scholes. Arsenal, on the other hand, have failed to confirm
the availability of their captain, Cesc Fabregas.
Arsenal’s track record at Old Trafford hasn’t been much to brag about as the Gunners haven’t won a single game against Alex Ferguson’s team since the September of 2006. However, for the neutral, it is still going to be a mouth-watering prospect seeing the
heavyweights of English football lock horns yet again.
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