First, a few particulars. He’s played in the Prem since 2012, making 34 appearances in that time. He’s massive, standing 1.87m (6’2″). As you might imagine, he’s strong in the air, but he doesn’t seem to trade height for pace, offering speed and agility to the mix. He made just 11 starts this past season due to injury-woes (mostly to his knee). If there’s a worry there, it’s that he last played for club or country way back in early February. He was apparently suffering some pain in his knee which doctors struggled to diagnose. This might raise some red flags (or inspire some Gooners to quip that he’s already got that Arsenal DNA. However, if this injury and the arrival of Mangala have made him surplus to Citeh’s requirements, this might make him available at more of a cut-rate price (again, Gooners, prepare your quips).
One other particular to consider: he should not count against the homegrown rule, and the Prem site lists him in Citeh’s U21 squad. his is a factor to contemplate, especially as our current squad already has 16 non-homegrown players, one less than the maximum seventeen that UEFA permits. We are close then to having to loan out or sell a non-homegrown player before acquiring another one, or risk being unable to register one of those for Champions League play. We need a minimum of eight home-grown players on our roster (not on the pitch), and so we do, at some level, have to be mindful of that factor. Here’s a quick run-down of our players who are not home-grown:
- Ospina, Mertesacker, Kos, Vermaelen, Monreal, Debuchy; Flamini, Diaby, Rosický, Arteta, Özil, Cazorla; Miyaichi, Podolski, Giroud, Alexis, Campbell.
We know that we need more cover at centre-back. Chambers needs time and experience. Vermaelen is all but gone. As unlikely as it may feel to us to sign the likes of Nastasić, he’s young, he’s apparently available, he’s familiar with the Prem, and it’s difficult to think of another centre-back who can offer that same combination of qualities. So Citeh might inflate their asking-price. At a time when other clubs are “overpaying” for young players, is £15m for Nastasić “overpaying”?
city are not going to sell nastasic. is he really homegrown? if he is then theres no chance hes gonna be sold.
dont you gooners get tired of sloppy seconds, doesn't any player just WANT to join Arsenal or will you keep hoping for other clubs do business that makes a player get dropped???
as I understand it, the Prem rules him to be under 21, and so he doesn't count as not homegrown: http://www.premierleague.com/en-gb/clubs/profile.squads.html/man-city
ARSENE WENGER DONT FORGET TO SAVE SOME MONEY FOR GONZALO HIGUAIN.
Stop shouting mate and welcome back from 2013.
He's listed as U21 so he should be fine. Jack Wilshere is like 3 months older and he's listed as U21 also.
Why with so many good, if not very good, names being bandied about, are we considering a player who might be 7th or 8th on MC's pecking order with a bad leg?Meantime, can we not settle the Tom V departure and use the 10 million plus other funds to replace him without being cheap and then, hopefully move on to one of those many mid-fielders we keep seeing or reading about, as well as (oh no, not again) a striker better or even equal to OG.
As an addition to my previous comments, it would appear that, little by little some of the more promising candidates for Arsenal's midfield and defensive vacancies or shortcomings are drifting away, too expensive for Arsene's frugal tastes or unwilling to be transferred or sold by their employers. The AW waiting game of hoping to snare a bargain at the last minute or just as a the transfer window closes may prove, as it did last winter, to result in a failure to get the best, let alone a very good player.Arsene, the clock is ticking…….