Why Nasri Could be More Important to Arsenal than Fabregas After Gervinho Signing

A matter of days ago Arsenal fans were staring the stark possibility of losing arguably their two most creative players in the face. However, the completion of Gervinho's signing from Lille coupled by suggestions that Nasri may well stay at the club have lifted the mood at the Emirates and suggest that the Gunners will still be a force to be reckoned with next season.

Losing the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri would be a devastating blow to any side, especially with the latter being linked with a move to fierce rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, but which potential departure could be of greater detriment to the team?

Wenger typically sets his side up with two holding midfielders, and with Alex Song and Jack Wilshere performing so admirably last term, it finally seems the side have the steel in the middle of the park that has been absent since Patrick Vieira's fair-well. The return of this resilience in midfield allows the French boss to afford his flair players with more freedom, with Fabregas and Nasri two of those to benefit.

The 24-year-old Frenchman operated in a wider role than his Spanish team-mate last term to devastating effect in the first half of the campaign. The creative midfielder was deployed on the left on numerous occasions and his staying could be crucial to the balance of the side following the signing of Ivory Coast international Gervinho.

Gervinho, also 24, may be played in a slightly less advanced position on the right than he was used to at Lille last season, and his signature could spell trouble for the likes of Theo Walcott and Andriy Arshavin, who both play in similar positions.

However, with Fabregas seeming the more likely of the current Arsenal duo to depart, Walcott and Gervinho may well be used as a second striker option to the talismanic Robin van Persie. If the captain does leave the club, Wenger may look to utilize a slightly more traditional 4-4-2 formation as an option, in turn allowing more creative freedom to Arsenal and England's brightest prospect Jack Wilshere.

Nasri
France international Samir Nasri started more games than any of his other attacking counterparts at the club (28), and due to a terrific start to the 2010-11 season, finished as the club's second top scorer with 10. Those strikes came from an average of just 1.7 shots per game while the 24-year-old also completed an impressive 2 successful dribbles a match.

Another area in which he excelled was in his pass success rate, notching an 88% average despite playing from a wide role on a number of occasions. However, a disappointing stat which may surprise many shows that he only made 1 assist all season, though poor finishing from his team-mates could be attributed to, having made an average of 1.9 key passes per game.

Fabregas
Cesc Fabregas' stats were less emphatic in a number of areas, namely in front of goal with the Arsenal skipper scoring just 3 times from his 22 starts. His inferior tally to Nasri came despite attempting more shots per game on average with 2, while the more central man also made just half the number of successful dribbles a match.

A facet in which Fabregas greatly exceeds his colleague lays in his ability to assist his team-mates. The Spaniard made 11 assists, averaging one for every other start, and also made a team high of 2.9 key passes per game. This superiority in terms of setting up others comes despite the 24-year-old being less successful with his passing, completing 81% of his attempts.

Gervinho vs Walcott & Arshavin
It is likely that new signing Gervinho will be in direct competition for a starting berth with Theo Walcott and Andriy Arshavin next season. The former Lille man netted 15 goals and set up a further 10 strikes for his team, exceeding Walcott and Arshavin's totals of 9 & 7, and 6 & 11 respectively.

The new recruits pass success rate of 80% was lower than Walcott's 83% figure but significantly higher than Arshavin's 75% and the Russian's age (30) could mean he will soon become surplus to requirements at the Emirates. The Ivorian attempted more shots and dribbles per game than his new team mates, and his total of 1.3 key passes per game is superior to Walcott's total of 0.8 in the same regard.

Wilshere More Advanced?
At just 19 it is early to suggest that Jack Wilshere is the finished article but the youngster has the all round capabilities to be a true great at Arsenal and he matured immensely to break into the England fold last season. At his tender age he started more games than any other midfielder and his 31 starts was only beaten by full-backs Clichy and Sagna (33 each).

The hot prospect will be hoping to add more goals to his game having only netted once in the league in the previous campaign though he only averaged 0.6 shots a match, providing a further 3 assists. His pass success rate of 86% is made all the more impressive due to his age and he completed a commendable 1.7 key passes per game in his instrumental role, making an average of 54.4 passes per appearance. The teenager still has a way to go if he is to fill the shoes of Fabregas as the hub of all of Arsenal's activity, completing an average of 63.9 passes a game.

Losing Cesc Fabregas would undoubtedly be hard to swallow for Arsenal fans but through the signing of Gervinho, Wenger's tactical options multiplying may compensate for the potential loss of their icon. The side could leave Nasri in a wide position and deploy Gervinho on the opposite flank to allow Wilshere more freedom to be creative, or Nasri could fill Fabregas' void in the centre of a midfield three. This would provide a more attacking option with the potential of Walcott and Gervinho supporting van Persie from wide positions giving Arsenal the much needed balance that they have been missing in recent years.