Arsenal Transfer News: Samir Nasri Will Regret Leaving Gunners for City

Samir Nasri is close to making the biggest mistake of his career, as the 24-year-old playmaking midfielder is preparing to bolt Arsenal for Manchester City. 

Nasri's status as a Gunner has been in doubt all summer long, as the French maestro has been angling for a transfer out of Emirates, frustrated with the team's lack of improvement and manager Arsene Wenger's refusal to break the £100,000-per week mark with his wage offers.

For much of the summer, it appeared as though Wenger would be successful in keeping his young midfield maestro in the fold, but clearly that isn't the case. 

According to a report from The Independent, Nasri and City have agreed to personal terms on a deal that would bring the talented midfielder to Eastlands.

The deal is believed to be worth £185,000-per week, but no length has been reported as of yet. The two clubs have yet to agree to terms of a transfer, but many believe that at this stage of the game, Wenger is willing to listen to any strong offer for his talented midfielder's services, lest he leave for free next summer.

While there's still a lot that can go wrong here and a deal is far from done (particularly given Wenger's previous stances on Nasri leaving), if the Frenchman bolts, he'll be making a tremendous mistake that could have a detrimental impact on the rest of his career.

This isn't a knock on City (although I don't think they're going to be as good as people seem to think they'll be). They have a devastatingly talented front line in Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, and one of the best keepers in the sport in Joe Hart. They figure to contend for a Champions League berth once again, thanks to the talent in the fold on the Blues' roster.

But anyone who has watched manager Roberto Mancini's club knows that the Blues don't play a style that fits Nasri's considerable talent. Mancini's teams tend to be defensively oriented, focused on stopping an opponent's attack and turning it into a counter-attack. While Nasri is not the worst defensive midfielder in history, he's far from suited to playing that role. 

Maybe Mancini will change his style to fit his team's offensive talents, but he didn't do it last season; of the top four finishers, none scored fewer goals last season than City's 60. While Nasri figures to fix that, there's only so much he can do in the Italian's defensive system. 

Nasri was a fantastic fit at Emirates. In Wenger's free-flowing, pass-heavy system, his gifts on the offensive end of the pitch were used brilliantly. He could feed his talented teammates to create scoring chances, make runs to goal, or use his solid shot to spectacular effect. His skills as a playmaker on the outside and occasionally in the central midfield made him the perfect player for Wenger's system. 

Now, he could find himself handicapped by a slower-paced, less-dynamic attacking style in which some of his talents figure to be squandered. Despite holding onto offensive talents like Tevez, Yaya Toure and yes, even Mario Balotelli, Mancini stubbornly clung to the notion that his defensive style was well-suited to City's roster, and the addition of a single player isn't likely to change his mind.

But the system isn't the only reason why Nasri will rue the decision to bolt for Eastlands. Because he would be without a doubt the most talented midfielder on City's roster, there are going to be major expectations for him to deliver clutch performances on big stages, particularly with the Blues so eager to impress in their first-ever Champions League appearance. 

However, anyone who has seen Nasri play during his time at Emirates knows that the Frenchman has a nasty habit of disappearing from view when the bright lights hit him on the big stage. He doesn't necessarily choke, per se, but he has failed to live up to his considerable talent when he's on the big stage.

Now, without the likes of Robin van Persie, Cesc Fabregas and even Andrey Arshavin on occasion no longer there to cover for him, Nasri is going to need to shake his invisibility in big games if he hopes to live up to his new massive contract. 

I'm not saying Nasri can't do it, just that he has yet to do it. If he doesn't find himself in the clutch at Eastlands, he could find it a very unforgiving place. 

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Nasri will find his clutch gear and step up his game without Fabregas and Van Persie there to steal his thunder. Maybe Mancini is going to figure out that in order to be an elite international club, you have to open up your club's considerable offensive talent and let them run free a bit. 

But do you really want to risk making the jump to City if you're Nasri?

Those are some serious red flags to joining a new club on such a massive contract, and this feels like a move destined to be a bad one. He's a poor fit for City's system, and while there's a solid chance he thrives with Aguero and Tevez ahead of him on the attack, this is a move Nasri will regret making.