Samir Nasri has thrown down the gauntlet to Manchester City to improve their away form and mount a serious title challenge after their 3-0 win against Swansea at the Etihad.
The 26-year-old’s third and fourth league goals of the season rounded off another impressive home display after Alvaro Negredo had put City ahead inside the opening ten minutes.
Manuel Pellegrini’s side moved up to third with the win but are still six points off Nasri’s former club Arsenal, who have been the pace-setters for the majority of the season.
Frenchman Nasri has stated that if City can pick up some points on the road then it will only be a matter of time until they close the gap, with the two sides meeting on December 14.
“Everything is fine at the moment; we had a tough first half but we came back with the best intentions, scored three goals and kept a clean sheet so it’s a good afternoon for us,” he said.
“We have to improve our form away from home and we have two games to do this (in the next seven days). Six points is not a lot, in terms of the gap before we face Arsenal.”
The Citizens go to West Brom on Wednesday before attempting to end in-form Southampton’s unbeaten home record next weekend.
Pellegrini has echoed the sentiments of Sunday’s man of the match, saying that it is crucial that they keep themselves in contention by remaining within striking distance of the Gunners.
“You have to play six more games in December,” he said. “That’s 18 points and being six points behind Arsenal is too much, but if Arsenal continue winning, it’s not easy,” the Chilean said.
“A good target for our team is to be three points behind them.”
Image courtesy of MCFC Official, with thanks
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