As Bacary Sagna’s contract comes closer to running out, it seems more and more likely that he will be departing the Emirates stadium this summer.
Arsène Wenger has offered the 31 year-old a three-year deal at £80,000 a week to keep him at Arsenal, which is reportedly what the French international wants. However, despite Arsène’s best efforts, Sagna feels his time at Arsenal has come to an end.
He wants to flee the nest in search of greener pastures and it will be a great shame to see him leave, but he will be held in high regard by Arsenal fans when he does.
He joined from Ligue 1 side Auxerre in July 2007 for a fee of around £7,000,000 and since then has gone on to be one of Arsenal’s most consistent players season after season, and one of the best right backs in the Premier League.
Upon his arrival, he took up the number 3 shirt, previously owned by Ashley Cole. Now that he is set to leave it behind, he has dispelled the treachery Cole left it tainted in and replaced it with loyalty.
Sagna has played in the Premier League, the Champions League, the FA Cup and the League Cup during his time in North London, featuring a total of 283 times in all competitions.
In that time he has scored five goals and assisted a further twenty. He has also picked up thirty yellow cards and two red cards over his seven seasons as a Gunner.
He broke his leg twice in the 2011/12 season, but despite this, returned to form having missed the first two months of the 2012/13 season.
His consistency was highlighted when he was named in the PFA Team of the Season twice, once in 2007/08 and once in 2010/11.
But other than those personal accolades, that is where Sagna’s honours at Arsenal finish.
He hasn’t won a trophy during his entire time at Arsenal, and was in the team that lost in the League Cup final against Birmingham. Given the farcical manner of the defeat, that will surely be his career low with the Gunners.
On top of that, he has watched top class players walk out season after season.
Over the last few years he has sparked interest from Inter Milan, Real Madrid and PSG, among others, but has stayed loyal to Arsenal in spite of the baron run. That is why he cannot be begrudged a move elsewhere at this stage of his career.
Of course, on the 17th May, Bacary Sagna will add one more game for Arsenal to his total, and it will be at Wembley Stadium.
Should he choose to leave, let us hope that it is on a career high, having just won the FA Cup with Arsenal, the team he has dedicated Seven years of his life to.
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Photo via Ronnie Macdonald