Wenger - The upside of Nasri's broken leg

By Richard Clarke

If Arsène Wenger believed in omens then the nature of Samir Nasri's injury would have made him a worried man.

Around 15 minutes into Arsenal's first session at their Austrian training camp back in July, the French midfielder broke his leg in relatively innocuous fashion.

It was the worst way for Wenger to start the most intense part of his season, especially as Nasri was expected to be increasingly influential after a solid first season at Arsenal.

He returns from that injury this evening against Liverpool in the Carling Cup and, far from a curse, his manager argues Nasri's extended lay-off could invigorate his side.

"At the time of his injury I thought that's a very bad start," said Wenger. "For the next two or three days you're always on edge and a little bit scared that anybody else gets injured. You know if you go into a season with three or four players injured you have very little chance to have an important part to play in it.

"But certainly Samir had a great first season and we have great expectations for him this time. Unfortunately he got injured in the first day of the training camp, we haven't seen him since and now we are at the end of October.

"However what is good for him is he is fresh, he has prepared well and he can be an important asset in the coming weeks."

When Nasri arrived, he slotted in neatly on the left side of a 4-4-2 formation. Much has changed since then. Despite his slight build, he professed a desire to take on a more combative, defensive role later in the campaign. Now Wenger has switched to a 4-3-3, the 22-year-old's versatility could be more than useful.

"I can play him where he is needed basically," said the manager. "I would say more in the defensive role now but, because he can dribble, he can play on the flanks too. He has pace and he can play in a role that is half a winger. A dropped winger who will come in sometimes, can go wide. But maybe it has to be balanced with a striker on the other side sometimes."

[Wednesday, October 28, 2009]

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