There was a particularly poignant moment when he instigated a passage of play, trotted over to take the subsequent corner, received a round of applause from the North Bank and applauded them back. Heck, his song even got an airing too. I was mighty proud of the Emirates faithful on Saturday for a number of reasons – including a defiant chant of “We love you Arsenal”

So another one bites the dust. Another key performer from last season gone. Another creative player exits. Another one who we thought had Arsenal in his heart will now don the crest of another club. Yep, sad times to be a Gooner as Samir Nasri follows Emmanuel Eboue out of the door.

I’m only half-kidding. But enough with the humour, for there is no place for it today.

As Arsenal announced earlier this afternoon, Samir Nasri will indeed be sold to Money City. A fee has been agreed and it is now down to the medical, which the Frenchman will have no trouble passing if we use his sparky performance against Liverpool on Saturday as evidence.

And it is Saturday that makes me have mixed feelings on Nasri. All summer long I have advocated selling him for cash money instead of keeping him, risking an uncommitted season, trying and failing to convince him re-sign, and then losing him for diddly squat next summer.

Indeed, when Arsene said a few weeks ago that Samir was going nowhere, I thought it would be downright lunacy to keep the unsettled boy from Marseille. The theory was simple: sell and replace with someone of equal quality for a similar price.

But then came Saturday. Amidst the news that his heir apparent Juan Mata was closer to West London than North came the revelation that Nasri would take to the field against Liverpool. Like many of you, I was sceptical as to whether he would try his hardest and afraid that the almost-certain adverse fan reaction to him would hamper the team as well.

I was wrong on both counts. Not only did he put in a helluva shift but the fans reacted very warmly to him during the game as they recognised his efforts. Maybe the final glimpse of his willingness to receive the ball in tight areas and dribbling ability had made us more appreciative of his talent?

There was a particularly poignant moment when he instigated a passage of play, trotted over to take the subsequent corner, received a round of applause from the North Bank and applauded them back. Heck, his song even got an airing too. I was mighty proud of the Emirates faithful on Saturday for a number of reasons – including a defiant chant of “We love you Arsenal” after the full-time boos – and one of these was the classy reaction to Nasri.

Come Saturday night and with rumours that his move to City was being held up by some agent shenanigans, I even began to dream that the fan reaction could change his mind and that he would sign on and remain a Gunner. I know, I’m a hopeless romantic. It would have been a fairytale story.

But of course, fairytales don’t happen often in football – least of all at Arsenal these days. He is a goner.

In the cold light of day, this is without doubt the best move for all parties. £24 million for a player in his last year of contract? Yes please.

The transfer comes as no surprise and for me it is not even the most depressing Arsenal-related news of the day, for that belongs to Jack Wilshere’s injury “setback”.

I have to admit that mysterious nature of the injury has given me the heebie-jeebies since day one. The fact that we could not put a definitive date for his return (or even an estimate) was all too concerning and eerily similar to Vermaelen’s injury of last season.

Hope sprung eternal over with news that he was back in training over the weekend and facing a fitness test on whether he would travel to Udinese for tomorrow’s second-leg. And even if he had failed this fitness test, at least it was a positive sign that he had been improving and may even have been in contention for Man Utd on the weekend.

But a setback? With “initial fears” that he may be out for two-months? Dear me.

If the worst case scenario does indeed manifest and he is out for two-months (and maybe more, given the Arsenal medical team’s propensity to mis-diagnose) then there is no way a midfield stable of Song, Frimpong, Diaby, Rosicky, Ramsey and Chamberlain can challenge for the title. Fourth place might even be a stretch. Reinforcements will be imperative.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First and foremost, Jack will be missing tomorrow night for the away leg in the Champions League qualifier. And he will be a big miss, especially his ability to turn defence into attack with a quick dribble and his eye for a pass. We desperately need an away goal, and it becomes all the more difficult in his absence.

I don’t think the Club has released an official squad list of those who are travelling, but from various journalists on Twitter I deduce that our starting lineup could be something along the lines of:

Szczesny; Traore, Vermaelen, Djourou, Sagna; Song, Rosicky, Ramsey; Gervinho, v.Persie, Walcott.

The main areas of contention will probably be in midfield, where new hero Emmanuel Frimpong could get the nod over either Rosicky or Ramsey, while Arshavin may start ahead of Walcott.

I won’t be displeased with that eleven. Not our strongest team, but they key issue is that it has balance. A natural left-back, two experienced centre-halves and pace on the flanks.

One of the most frustrating things about our games this season is how injuries and sendings-off have disrupted our rhythm. At Newcastle it was Gervinho’s red. In the Udinese first-leg we had to cope with first Gibbs and then Djourou being crocked. And against Liverpool there was Koscielny’s injury and later Frimpong’s red card.

If the aforementioned eleven can remain fit and focused during the 90 minutes, I think we could grab an away goal and remain solid defensively to see us through. Naturally I would be more confident if the likes of Koscielny and Wilshere were there, but thus is the hand that fate has dealt us.

So onto tomorrow. You don’t need me to tell you how important a game it is. The defining game of the month? Yes. The defining game of the season? Probably. The most important match in Arsene’s reign at the Club? Quite possibly.

Believe me, this is not hyperbole. The negative connotations of not qualifying tomorrow night will be massive. We will be in new territory of not having Champions League football under Wenger. We will not have the television revenue that it brings. We will not be as attractive a prospect to potential signings.

On the flip side, the positives are equally as big. Some hope and belief will be restored in the knowledge that our coffers will be further swelled and that we can still offer top-level football to players. Essentially, if we qualify then we can (and I believe we WILL) go out and buy the quality we need. Many names have been bandied about – Jagileka, Cahill, M’Vila, Zarate, Hazard – and there are rumours that these signings are dependent upon our Champions League status this season.

But enough about transfers. They aren’t going to happen between now and tomorrow night. And to a large extent they depend upon the outcome of tomorrow night. For the time being, the truth is on the pitch.

Squid Boy – http://twitter.com/#!/TheSquidBoyLike