The mass exodus from Arsenal continues.
Samir Nasri is the latest to bolt London after Arsenal and Manchester City agreed to terms for the transfer of the French midfielder.
Nasri, 24, enjoyed a breakout season during the 2010-11 campaign and reportedly cost Manchester City £24 million to secure the transfer. He'll join the likes of David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko as the new wave of attacking talent at the Eastlands while leaving Arsenal with another massive hole to fill in the midfield after the departure of Cesc Fabregas.
Reports suggest that Arsenal is seeking Lille playmaker Eden Hazard as a potential replacement at the position.
Here are a few more stories from around the soccer world:
MOURINHO FACES LONG BAN
Jose Mourinho might be paying a hefty price for his actions in the brawl between Real Madrid and Barcelona during last week's SuperCopa final leg.
Mourinho poked Barcelona assistant Tito Vilanova in the eye during the scrum and is being investigated by the Spanish Football Federation. He faces a suspension of up to 12 matches (and as few as four) if found guilty. Vilanova also faces a potential ban for retaliating by pushing the Madrid boss.
The players at the heart of the fight — Real Madrid's Marcelo and Mesut Ozil and Barcelona's David Villa — each received red cards and automatic one-game bans for their actions.
LIVERPOOL AFTER COATES
Liverpool just lost Greek centerback Sotirios Kyrgiakos to Wolfsburg, but a replacement is lined up as the club is reportedly after Uruguayan defender Sebastian Coates.
The 20-year-old Coates had a standout Copa America, where he was chosen as Best Young Player, and he has attracted a long line of suitors for his services, which he currently provides to Club Nacional in his native Uruguay. Reports from England suggest that Liverpool will offer £12 million to try and add him prior to the close of the summer transfer window.
MANCHESTER UNITED GETS TRAINING KIT SPONSOR
Manchester United became the first English team to secure a sponsor for its training kit, inking a four-year, $66 million deal with delivery service company DHL.
The club will only wear the sponsored training jerseys ahead of domestic games, as it is prohibited from wearing them before Champions League games per UEFA rules.
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Do you think Nasri will succeed in Manchester? How do you Arsenal faring without him? How long do you think Mourinho should be suspended? Think Coates would be a good signing for Liverpool? How do you feel about Manchester United getting its training jersey sponsored?
Share your thoughts below.
Why on earth would Hazard switch Lille for Arsenal right now? He’s playing for a title winning side possessing a strong core of talented players. Best football in France by a mile.
And they’ll get their bright new amazing stadium by next year…
Two excellent–world class, even–players with egos to boot, and their respective styles don’t suit each others’ games. And Sneijder especially has a reputation for arrogance.
Their feud apparently began during qualifying for the last WC over who was going to take a free kick. But you could tell by watching during the WC–Sneijder simply would not pass to Van Persie no matter what. (It didn’t help matters that RvP clearly wasn’t back to full fitness after an extended injury layoff.) Even the commentators remarked on their lack of chemistry on the pitch.
If I were an Arsenal supporter I would be hopping mad and screaming for Wegner’s head right about now.
This team has been one physical centerback and an experienced keeper away from being one of the greatest sides of the decade. With the departure of the two biggest playmakers/leaders on the roster, that potential has now pretty much evaporated.
It’s like someone $hitting in their collective mouth.
Yep. Hopping mad I’d be.
Well — ACtually, you’re discussing the results the teams achieved with those players, which has nothing to do with keeping them.
On the other hand, if ManU was winning titles with Ronaldo and Tevez while Arsenal was not winning much of anything with Fabregas and Nasri, which team made the bigger mistake in letting them go? Which players delivered titles and which failed? Sure, ManU has replacements while Arsenal does not — but again that’s separate from a team’s ability to hold on to players.
Think before you type.
They both are.
I think he would be a free agent by then, he signed a 4 year contract after reaching the MLS Cup final in 09. So this is his 2nd year and 2013 would be his final year, if Galaxy and MLS don’t sell him next January or January of 2013 then he could sign with someone on a FREE TRANSFER, maybe he can join a nice Champions League team like in France or something? Doubt Arsenal will be calling then???
Not sure if that’s sarcasm or not. So I’ll refrain from addressing it, either way.
Are you saying this because he remembers Graham and his boring boring side of the late 80’s or are you making fun of his name calling…
Sorry just hard to read sarcasm on a comments section..
I’m a die hard Spurs fan, but that Anderson goal was one of the single best counter-attacking sequences that I have ever seen in soccer. Disappointing result for me but really an awesome game, especially for a match so one-sided on the scoreline.