Hello everyone,
Some of the statistics from last season were quite surprising to me. In particular, these pass completion stats from the premier league:
David Silva Pass Completion was 85.4%
Samir Nasri Pass Completion was 90.8%
Now, it must be pointed out that Silva made about 12 more passes per game, however it also shows just how valuable Nasri is to our team. We were very quick to write Nasri off, even though he is still 26 years old, simply to make way for Isco. (By the way, I've seen Isco play for Real Madrid and he's a quality player offensively in terms of creativity, dribbling and passing, but he simply does not provide enough defensively and can lose the ball quite easily. He's only 20 so its understandable.)
It could also have something to do with Nasri's more cautious approach. This is of course a good thing as Silva is the man to take risks and try out difficult passes and dribbles whereas Nasri will be relied on to hold up the ball and pass the ball around safely. Every team needs this balance just like with Iniesta & Xavi, Schweinsteigger & Kroos etc.
Nasri also provided 7 assists and scored a couple of important goals. Silva did 1 better in terms of assists, and scored 2 more goals. Arguably both of them had rather poor seasons and we can only hope they will improve this year under a new system and style.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41XBcSn4Rfs[/youtube]
Either way, I'm just making a point that we are undervaluing Nasri even though his stats were very much comparable to Silva's. Just as we were undervaluing Dzeko (not anymore I think). I'm not sure where this player preference or rejection stems from but I think everyone is susceptible to doing this. Perhaps its because of the media or that we are taking a player's reputation or achievements with the national team into account. Both players can improve next season, but they are a lot closer in terms of ability than many people think. The burden on these two players is especially higher now that Tevez has left although we add a new dimension with Navas and Jovetic.
Some of the statistics from last season were quite surprising to me. In particular, these pass completion stats from the premier league:
David Silva Pass Completion was 85.4%
Samir Nasri Pass Completion was 90.8%
Now, it must be pointed out that Silva made about 12 more passes per game, however it also shows just how valuable Nasri is to our team. We were very quick to write Nasri off, even though he is still 26 years old, simply to make way for Isco. (By the way, I've seen Isco play for Real Madrid and he's a quality player offensively in terms of creativity, dribbling and passing, but he simply does not provide enough defensively and can lose the ball quite easily. He's only 20 so its understandable.)
It could also have something to do with Nasri's more cautious approach. This is of course a good thing as Silva is the man to take risks and try out difficult passes and dribbles whereas Nasri will be relied on to hold up the ball and pass the ball around safely. Every team needs this balance just like with Iniesta & Xavi, Schweinsteigger & Kroos etc.
Nasri also provided 7 assists and scored a couple of important goals. Silva did 1 better in terms of assists, and scored 2 more goals. Arguably both of them had rather poor seasons and we can only hope they will improve this year under a new system and style.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41XBcSn4Rfs[/youtube]
Either way, I'm just making a point that we are undervaluing Nasri even though his stats were very much comparable to Silva's. Just as we were undervaluing Dzeko (not anymore I think). I'm not sure where this player preference or rejection stems from but I think everyone is susceptible to doing this. Perhaps its because of the media or that we are taking a player's reputation or achievements with the national team into account. Both players can improve next season, but they are a lot closer in terms of ability than many people think. The burden on these two players is especially higher now that Tevez has left although we add a new dimension with Navas and Jovetic.