Football: Mancini surprised at Wenger outburst

LONDON: Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini has moved to defuse his feud with Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger over his public pursuit of Gunners star Samir Nasri. Mancini enraged Wenger on Saturday when he admitted in an interview that he hoped to sign France midfielder Nasri “by the end of the month”. The Italian’s comments broke the unwritten rule that managers never speak publicly about their interest in other teams’ players and Wenger gave a scathing response. But Mancini was surprised by Wenger’s outburst. “I said only that Nasri, [Sergio] Aguero are two good players and I said also that Nasri is under contract with Arsenal,” said Mancini. “I don’t know why he’s upset. Because the question was about good players.”

Published in The Express Tribune, July 18^th, 2011.