Wenger – It was not easy to replace Nasri and Fabregas

Arsenal’s manager Arsene Wenger offered an interview before the Manchester City match in remembrance of the last summer when he found out that Samir Nasri was going to leave Arsenal. The Frenchman was faced with the problem of replacing both him and Fabregas which would have been no easy task.

“You want to keep your young players but when we didn’t reach an agreement over a new contract I prepared myself to face it [the prospect of Nasri leaving],” Wenger told Arsenal.com

“Overall I knew that Ramsey didn’t play much last year and that he would be in contention if he had a chance not to be injured. In pre-season I felt that Wilshere and Ramsey worked very well together.”

“What we did not expect of course was to lose Wilshere on top on that. We had to admit then that we were a little bit exposed quality and number-wise [so we signed more players].”

“I hope Samir gets a good reception,” said Wenger. “I don’t know if he will play but personally I want every player who has played for us to be respected when they come back.”

“Samir improved tremendously while he was with us. He has developed fantastically well from a non-scoring player to a guy who could make a decision. Of course he was an important player here and I’m sure he will be for Man City as well.”

Fortunately, Mikel Arteta proved to be a top player and Ramsey had a decent season so far. The two would be no match for Fabregas and Nasri, but Arsenal seems to be doing well at the moment without the two and after Wilshere will be fit and perhaps another one or two players will be brought in Arsenal will be able to become the same fierce force as last season.