'The abuse is STUPID. I'm not an Arsenal fan, I am not from London!"- Nasri hits back at Arsenal's boo boys

Having taken dog’s abuse from Arsenal fans for daring to leave The Emirates, Manchester City’s Premier League title winner Samir Nasri is in no mood to deliberately open up old wounds ahead of the Community Shield clash against his former club at Wembley on Sunday.

But ask the 27-year-old son of Marseille a direct question and you’ll usually get a direct answer, which is why he doesn’t consider Arsene Wenger’s new-look team, boosted by the arrival of Alexis Sanchez, genuine challengers for City’s championship crown just yet.

‘I think Chelsea will be the biggest threat. For me, Arsenal still have a weakness in defensive mid and at centre-back,’ he says without any thought of shirking the issue.

 

‘Chelsea’s signings have really caught my eye. Cesc Fabregas is a great replacement for Frank Lampard, I know that from playing with him at Arsenal. They had a weakness up front so they've signed Diego Costa who was great for Atletico Madrid last season. They lost Ashley Cole but bought in Filipe Luis.

‘They have also done their business fast so the players have had time to spend working together. They will be really dangerous.’

As for the rest, Nasri is slightly skeptical, particularly as he thinks Chilean World Cup star Sanchez will need time to bed in after his £35million move from Barcelona.

‘Liverpool have bought a lot of players but they have also lost (Luis) Suarez and it’s really hard to replace a guy like this.

‘For Arsenal, Sanchez has the quality, but the Premier League is not La Liga. It is really, really hard.

‘We saw that with Mesut Ozil last year. We expected a lot from him and at the start of the season he was brilliant. But he found out when every other league has a break in December, you carry on playing in England.

'Stupid': Nasri is given stick by Arsenal fans as he sits on the bench at the Emirates in 2012

'It is tough and I think players need a year to adapt. We had the same with Stevan Jovetic at City. He had a lot of injuries in his first year, now he’s come back second time around and is flying in pre-season.

‘The only player I know who came in from abroad and made an impact during his first season was Sergio Aguero at City. The rest at some point have all had their ups and downs.’

Dissing Arsenal’s title chances and politely suggesting we might have to wait 12 months to see the best of Sanchez isn’t going to go down well with Gunners fans who accused Nasri of joining City for the money in 2011. A video of him being abused by Arsenal supporters was posted online last year when he went to The Emirates as a spectator to see them play City.

Nasri doesn’t seem to think the situation will ever alter but describes the animosity as “stupid” and believes fans are misguided to think professional players should feel the same blind loyalty to clubs as they do.

‘The abuse doesn’t affect me on the pitch, I just think it’s stupid. I’m not an Arsenal fan, I am not from London. If we want to be honest, we are players who look at what is in the the best interests for us and our career,’ he says.

‘When Manchester City came, it was the best choice for me to come here. And today I have won trophies, I am really happy, I have everything and I have a better life.

‘If the fans can’t move on then it’s too bad. But me, I am not trying to have a problem with that. They do what they have to do, they love their club, maybe they saw it as treason or that I betrayed them. But it’s not that. I’m not like that.

‘I just look at for what’s best for me; and that’s what Bacary Sagna did, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure.’

Those three players have all left Arsenal for City in recent seasons, as well as Nasri and Gael Clichy. Nasri accepts financial reasons play a part – City pay the biggest wages per player than any team in world sport – but insists it’s not the only consideration top players take into account.

‘Fans think it must be for the money. But it’s not just the money. Ok, it’s a factor, it’s important nowadays. But if someone earns 200 (thousand) a week or 150 or 100 a week, it’s not going to make a difference or an impact on your life, so that’s not true.

‘I am in debt to Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. If I am this player today, it is because of him. But I don’t need to explain myself, what I have done with Manchester City should be enough and I don’t have to point to it all the time.’