As much as Arsene Wenger wanted to channel his energy this summer towards rejuvenating his squad, the Arsenal boss once again faces the challenge of keeping key players at the Emirates.

As well as the Cesc Fabregas-to-Barcelona bandwagon resuming its traditional summer course, Samir Nasri has emerged as a potential departure following the Frenchman’s delay on signing an extension on a contract that expires next June.

Subsequently, the midfielder has attracted interest from both Manchester clubs and the valuation, because of his deal running near its end, has dwindled to a reported £15 million.

Nasri’s link with City is an intriguing one since Roberto Mancini’s side boast a wealth of midfielders. In City’s 4-3-3 system, to get the best out of the Frenchman would mean playing him in Yaya Toure’s existing role behind the striker. Since at Arsenal, Nasri flourished when he’s deputised for Cesc Fabregas in the attacking midfield position as in three appearances, he’s attained a Whoscored.com rating of 7.93, as well as having scored three goals.

Should Nasri move to Eastlands, Yaya Toure, therefore, would be forced to drop into a deeper role alongside the defensive-minded Nigel de Jong, similar to his position at his former club Barcelona.

But is Nasri worth relegating Yaya Toure to a more defensive role after the Ivorian proved to be such an influential figure in City’s attack last term? The statistics prove there’s little to split the two in terms of their distribution ability.

In 30 league outings, Nasri scored 10 goals while assisting one. Yaya Toure’s record in his inaugural season in the Premier League was arguably more rounded as he netted eight times and assisted four in 35 league outings.

The Arsenal man bettered Yaya Toure in his key-pass-per-game count with an average of 1.9 to the Ivorian’s 1.1. The Frenchman also fared slight better with his passing accuracy – 88% to 85%. Two areas Yaya Toure came out on top against Nasri was his average-passes-per-game total of 52, which shaded Nasri’s 49 and his successful long-ball-per-game count of 3.1 to the 24-year-old’s 1.2. Although, that last statistic can be disregarded in some respects as City’s playing style is fairly contrasting to Wenger’s side’s philosophy, and Yaya Toure has played, at times, a lot deeper than Nasri.

In attack, the pair share similar statistics. Yaya Toure averages less shots per game (1.1 to 1.7) than Nasri, but the Frenchman shows more of a willingness to take on opponents as he managed an impressive average of 2.1 dribbles per game, where as the Ivorian mustered an average of just 1.5.

With little to distinguish between the pair, Mancini could well be forgiven for passing up the opportunity to steal a transfer target under the noses of their rivals at Old Trafford.

Yaya Toure has transformed into a player who poses a significant threat to an opponents defence. Judging by the statistics, it’s difficult to argue Nasri would be a distinct difference to what City currently possess in their ranks.