Samir Nasri recently spoke out against France manager Didier Deschamps and the former Arsenal man has a point in his criticisms.
A polarising player by nature, the 32-year-old who left behind many believers and doubters during his career. Especially in his career, this has been evident among managers as well as spectators, highlighting just how important a role coaches have in regards to their players.
Two of the most prominent figures along the thread of Nasri's career, Arsene Wenger and Deschamps, represent the impact their support or doubt can have on players. For Nasri, the doubt Deschamps brought upon him was noticeable among others, despite him leading Les Bleus to World Cup glory in 2018.
"I don't understand why Benzema didn't make Euro 2016 or the 2018 World Cup," he said on Instagram Live on Monday [April 20].
"I don't understand why I didn't make the 2014 World Cup. Find me a player who is happy if he is a replacement. I don't understand why Hatem Ben Arfa was not selected for Euro 2016, after his season with Nice.
"It depends on who the coach is. There are a lot of coaches who do what the L'Equipe newspaper writes. There is a lot of cronyism. The criteria change. Before, you had to be good at the club. Today, this is no longer the case."
When looking at how Wenger dealt with Nasri in turbulent situations, the fact he was far more willing to give players the chance to redeem themselves stands as one of his biggest strengths.
After the French scandal at the 2010 World Cup, in which Nasri was part of the squad, it would have been easy for Wenger to shunt the then 23-year-old to one side to avoid further problems. Instead, he turned to the Frenchman to become one of the most important parts of that Arsenal side and in turn, Nasri had his best season in red and white.
Performing a virtual u-turn from the summer, he ended the season with three Fans' Player of the Month awards, a place in the PFA Team of the Year and was named the French Player of the Year. Alongside this he captained Arsenal on numerous occasions that season and playing as confidently as ever, racked up 15 goals and five assists across all competitions.
Clubs were bound to circle around him after that campaign and although his departure left a sour taste in the mouth, the job Wenger done with him was exemplary of the importance a manager's trust.
Fast forward four years and he had a similar manager in Manuel Pellegrini. Not scared of the external drama around Nasri - as he proved once more when signing him for West Ham - he used the Frenchman as a key part of Manchester City's path to the title that year.
Partnering up with Aleksandr Kolarov down the left, a threat delivering City's near-to-far-post corner routines and sliding passes him behind defences, he was an understated creative release for their side. In the end, he scored 11 goals and made 12 assists across all competitions that year. In addition to this, he created league chances than any other French player that season [94].
Despite this, Deschamps decided against selecting Nasri for the French World Cup squad. Considering the season the then-27-year-old had, his omission from the squad was clearly not down to a matter of quality.
In the years since, Deschamps' stubbornness has become even more apparent to Arsenal fans as Alexandre Lacazette has suffered a similar fate with the French national team.
Although he has been out of form for the majority of the 2019/20 campaign, there have been instances in his time at Arsenal when in red-hot form, he has been dismissed. In fact, he scored twice against then-World Champions, Germany in his last France appearance but hasn't played since - and that was in November 2017.
Not even a year later, he was left out of the France World Cup squad despite netting eight goals in his last 10 games of the 2017/18 season.
Lacazette didn't have Wenger when he returned for the 2018/19 campaign, but in Unai Emery, had a manager that trusted him. That year saw him become much more selfless, as Olivier Giroud had been for Deschamps at the World Cup, but despite winning the Arsenal Player of the Year in doing so, a France call up still awaits.
Over the course of his tenure, Deschamps has left a litter of players in his wake. Nasri, Lacazette, Anthony Martial and Karim Benzema are just a few not to be given a chance by the manager.
Of course, this saw Nasri retire from international duty in 2014 but in the case of the others, despite Deschamps seeming to have found a formula that works, surely there should be room for them to be in the mix to compete?
