Manuel Pellegrini is playing his cards close to his chest on whether Samir Nasri will either start of be on the bench against Arsenal at the weekend.
And after his excellent start to life at the club against Birmingham he must be a slight favourite to edge it over Mark Noble in a game which the Irons will hope to kick start a new winning League run again following the 2-2 draw over Brighton.
And it starts to look as though he and the skipper will be vying for the midfield position over the rest of the season as the team bid for a top ten or even top eight or six end of season finish
Nasri himself would be right up for a game in which he would be pitched in against the north Londoners with whom he spent three years of his career.
And the manager is confident that the Frenchman will continue to improve over the season as he gets more game time under his belt.
He said: “I was very happy with the way he played (against Birmingham). He is a player who gives you time with the ball and has good technique and the ball is always around him.
“I was never worried about Samir because I saw him working for so many days in December so I was sure he was able to play.”
“He will now be considered in different games and the next one is Arsenal. We don’t know if he will start or be on the bench but now he has demonstrated that he is back and he will continue to improve his performances as he plays more games.”