Nasri not Ribery

[Rad]

I was at the France Vs Ukraine match on Saturday ( M. Wenger was commentating for French TV a few rows behind me!) and I was impressed by the quality of France's football. Thuram was outstanding alongside Gallas who didn't put a foot wrong. Anelka looked back to his old Arsenal self and Ribery was effective in attack but apart from scoring the opening goal he disappointed me in the fact that he didn't want to go past people down the line but kept cutting inside ( a la Walcott, Hleb, Rosicky). Now Samir Nasri who is nearly 20 from Olympique Marseille was excellent. He is a Frenchman of Algerian (Berber) extraction (roll out the red carpet!). He is an attacking midfielder who played just behind Anelka and inside Malouda and Ribery. He had some really powerful attacking runs and set up several chances for Anelka. He is short and stocky in stature and reminds me a bit of Maradona with elements of Barcelona's Saviola about him. I expect he could play on the wing or as he gets more mature he could play in a deeper midfield role. One for the future anyway.

[Galasso]

Rad

I watched this game from here on German Eurosport and, while I agree that France played pretty well against a very defensive Ukraine, I can't say that Nasri was excellent. He certainly had a lot of energy and some nice skill, and it does seems the French are excited about him (probably searching for 'the new....', as we all are) He had several (weak) shots on goal and made many bad decisions...maybe a bit harsh as seems one to keep an eye on. Not for us though...we have enough ones for the future as it is.

[Rad]

Nasri scores only goal of game for France tonight. Keep the faith!