Nasri 'honoured' to join Arsenal

Arsenal have signed France midfielder Samir Nasri from Olympique de Marseille for an undisclosed fee said to be in the region of €14.5m.

'Great potential'
The 21-year-old has signed what Arsenal describe as a "long-term contract" after leaving his hometown club, who first took Nasri on at the age of nine. "I'm very happy to become an Arsenal player, it means such a lot to me," Nasri said. "This is a very important step in my life as a football player because Arsenal is a massive club. I really hope everything will go well for me here. I will do my best for Arsenal and its fans and I am honoured to be part of such a great football club." Manager Arsène Wenger added: "He is young, quick and technically an outstanding player. He has shown great potential with his performances for Marseille and the French national team over the past two seasons and he will add great quality to our squad."

Marseille rise
Marseille's player of the year in 2007, Nasri made 145 appearances for the club, scoring eleven goals. During that time, he won the 2005 UEFA Intertoto Cup and helped Marseille to third place in Ligue 1 last season, meaning that, like Arsenal, they will enter the UEFA Champions League in the third qualifying round. Nasri, who came to prominence with his last-minute winner for hosts France in the 2004 UEFA European Under-17 Championship final - beating a Spain side containing Cesc Fàbregas - made two appearances at UEFA EURO 2008™ to take his senior cap total to 12.