Nasri: City one of world’s best

Samir Nasri believes Manchester City’s stunning victory in Rome proves they have one of the best teams in the world and has railed on critics who wrote off their season.

The Frenchman scored City’s first goal as they claimed an impressive 2-0 win at Roma on Wednesday that secured progress to the last 16 of the Champions League despite taking just two points from their first four games in the group.

City also started slowly in the Premier League but have now won their last six games in all competitions to cut Chelsea’s lead at the top of the table from nine points to three.

And Nasri has used the example of Chelsea to prove that his side are “not that bad”, claiming they must be a reasonable team if they are keeping pace with a club that was tipped to emulate Arsenal’s Invincibles until they lost at Newcastle last Saturday.

The former Arsenal man also says injuries are the only thing that have held City back this season and that they will hit top form when they have an entire squad to choose from, although Sergio Aguero has been ruled out with a knee injury and is unlikely to return before February.

Nasri’s assertion that City, who have never been beyond the last 16 in the Champions League, are one of the best teams in Europe will raise eyebrows as Manuel Pellegrini’s men look to make an impact on the continent this season.

“For me, we have one of the best teams in the world. We just have to show it. I think that when you go through with all the difficulties — and it was a miracle after four games, when you have two points and still a chance to qualify — I think we can go as far as possible. We have to be lucky on the draw.

“Is it a sign of our quality that we are three points off Chelsea and in the last 16 of the Champions League without playing well? I just think you want too much from us.

” A week ago everyone was comparing them to the Invincibles from Arsenal, everyone was saying they are unbeatable and we are just three points behind. That means we are not that bad.

“The thing is, last year we were smashing every team 6-1, 6-3, 6-0, 5-1, 5-0. We just show that as a team we can perform.

“Since the start of the season we never had the whole squad fully fit to give the headache to the manager to choose his best XI. When we have all of this, we will see how good we are.”

And Nasri believes City have the strength in depth to compete on all fronts. They went into the game against Roma missing Aguero, Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure, with David Silva only fit enough for the bench.

That they beat Italy’s second best side with some ease helps support Nasri’s case, but he says it is too early to talk about being crowned European champions.

He added: “If you want to compete for every competition, which is the case at Manchester City, you have to have a deep squad and count on anyone, not just rely on one player.

“Let’s be honest, everyone will miss Sergio Aguero, especially in the form that he was in (before his injury). But we have other solutions and we did it against Roma. It is too early to talk about it (how well they will do in the Champions League).

“We don’t know which injuries will happen by February. Last year we had the same points as Bayern Munich in the group stages and everyone was really confident, as Barcelona were not at their best in the last 16.

“We had three or four major players injured so I think it is too early. Let’s see who we get in the draw and then we’ll see.”

For his part David Silva says he would rather not face one of the trio of Spanish giants City could be paired with in Monday’s draw. City will be drawn against one of Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Monaco and Porto – and Silva is desperate not to face his fellow countrymen.

“I would prefer anyone else, I don’t want any of them.” said Silva on the possibility of facing a Spanish side.

Meanwhile England goalkeeper Joe Hart says he wants to stay at Manchester City for the rest of his career as he prepares to sign a new contract.

The 27-year-old has been in talks over a lucrative new five-year deal at the Etihad Stadium for several months and has now revealed the contract is all but signed.

"I have been here for a long time. I feel like it is my club now and I want to be here as long as I can.

"As far as I am aware it is pretty much sorted. I leave it to the legal side to sort but I am very happy at this club and hopefully in the near future I will be signing that contract."