How important Nasri is to us..

Samir Nasri’s recent absence through injury has proved what a crucial member of the team he has become says the Manchester Evening News’ Stuart Brennan.

Nasri has missed the last three games with a calf injury with City scoring just one goal and looking oddly devoid of creativity in the games against Arsenal, Middlesbrough and Chelsea.

With so many column inches written about Yaya Toure’s absence over the past five weeks, Brennan points out that Nasri’s contribution to the team is perhaps sometimes overlooked.

He writes: “But the good news for forlorn Blues, apart from that heartening display at Chelsea last week, is that there is a midfielder coming back against Hull on Saturday – and in some ways he has had a BIGGER influence on City this season.

“The fact that he is Yaya’s closest pal in the squad means he will probably be reminding the big man of these stats on a frequent basis.

“His passing accuracy of over 90.3 per cent is better than Yaya’s 89.8, and his passing accuracy in the opposition half is 90.3 to Yaya’s 88.2.


“He also has four assists to Toure’s one this season, and has created more than TWICE as many chances, with 43 to his pal’s 20.

“Of course, Yaya will no doubt point out that he has scored seven goals, and Nasri has not got one in the league this season – although his brilliant strike in Rome goes a long way towards making up for that!

“But the stats alone do not tell the story. Those who watch City on a regular basis will know that Nasri is a hugely important figure for City these days, very close to joining the list of essential players – Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, Yaya, David Silva and Sergio Aguero.”