Gunners boss has board backing over Nasri

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger believes he has the board's backing in his decision to hold on to Samir Nasri, despite the fact he could be lost for nothing when his contract expires at the end of the forthcoming season.

Nasri has been linked with moves to Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea for a fee in the realm of £25 million, but Wenger has vowed to keep hold of the Frenchman and says the club are in a financial position to do so.

"I believe that is no problem," Wenger said. "It is a technical decision. On one hand people say I don't spend enough and when I spend people say I spend too much. It's very difficult to find the right medium.


 

"What is important is that the club has a good team and is in a strong financial situation. The decisions are dictated by financial restrictions but not only by that. The most important thing is that the team is right and our financial situation is right as well."

Further insisting that Nasri will not be leaving the club, Wenger went on to say that the 24-year-old will be fully focused on the job at hand at Arsenal, and that the club is used to the distractions that come with transfer speculation surrounding their players.

"He has always had a very good attitude," he said. "We are a big club with many good young players so we are confronted with many rumours and speculation.

"But it doesn't affect much what's happening inside the Club. We have to live with that and you could see when he played that he wasn't disturbed by that."

The Frenchman also paid tribute to returning duo Aaron Ramsey and Thomas Vermaelen after Wednesday's friendly victory over Malaysia XI, suggesting their fully fit return to the Gunners squad could have a similar impact on the club as Jack Wilshere did last season.

"It’s a bit early for me. I’m a football manager and, unfortunately, not a prophet! We are happy to have a player like Ramsey back, who didn’t play the whole season and Vermaelen as well," Wenger said post-match. "So hopefully they can have a very interesting season."