Sagna to leave at end of season?

For those who have spent time on Twitter tonight you will have seen that the latest news involving Arsenal in a couple of tomorrow's papers is that Sagna will not be offered more than a 1 year extension to his contract and may be sold this summer. That, unfortunately, comes as no surprise as Sagna is a key and reliable player and therefore must be sold. I hope we let him run his contract down.



Bacary Sagna is set to be the next big-name departure from Arsenal after hitting deadlock over his contract.

The 29-year-old, who has 18 months left on his deal, has been offered just a one-year extension and there seems to be no shifting in the club's position.

Sagna does not appear in Arsenal's big 2013 calendar - an omission that fuelled speculation he would not be a Gunner much longer.

The France right-back is interesting Inter Milan, and a move looks increasingly likely after the latest round of talks reached a stand-off.

Sagna, believed to be frustrated he has not been offered better terms, previously voiced concerns about the club selling top players such as Robin van Persie and Alex Song.

The Gunners may have some concerns about the long-term prospects of a player has suffered two broken legs in the past 14 months, but manager Arsene Wenger wants him to stay.

Wenger is also playing hard-ball over Theo Walcott’s contract.

Talks have stalled after the England winger was offered £75,000-a-week.

Contract negotiations involving Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are also taking place.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/transfer-news/arsenal-transfers-bacary-sagna-set-1474640?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Not sure how much more of this we can take!

This is inevitable really, players observe the conveyer belt that is the club's transfer policy and think well never mind, we're not going anywhere fast here.

In the end Sagna's first season was the only one where we looked capable of winning something. Now he's seen crucial team mates leave and he thinks he'll get some experience elsewhere too.

The money issue is a joke, in that there is relatively little difference in remuneration between journeymen and unproven muppets and first-team guaranteed starters with many international caps. Such a daft model, we look like mugs because we can't get rid of anyone now. We're being milked by the modern pros for all we're worth. It's not by increasing overall wages expenditure that we'll get better, it's by getting better players who demand higher wages or by improving the wages of our best players. Otherwise it's just Simon Kuper's stats analysis gone wrong.

I like Jenkinson but the bigger picture is that the revolving door transfer policy is a sign of incompetence and lack of expertise and nous at the club.

If we could just get rid of some of the dead weight who have 50k contracts and so forth then it'd make these contract negotiations a little easier. I've been reading about Sagna on Twitter and other places and I hope it isn't true but nothing to do but wait and see.

I even read today an article saying we are already looking for his replacement - http://www.fanatix.com/news/arsenal-on-course-to-sign-superb-young-defender-after-sagna-deal-talks-fail/ - so I guess the rumours are growing.

I am no longer surprised at anything this club does, or in this case doesn't do. Right backs of Sagna's quality are hard to come by, surely you'd offer him what he wants?!

Steve Dawson wrote:I am no longer surprised at anything this club does, or in this case doesn't do. Right backs of Sagna's quality are hard to come by, surely you'd offer him what he wants?!

He and Cazorla are our only world-class players, if you ask me. I was actually hoping Wenger would make him captain this summer...by the sounds of this, Sagna should've been captain in order to continue our notorious little trend

Sagna's contract is up in june 2014, where he will be 31 by then. So in this case, if it is true that the club only wants to extend the deal 1 year (till he is 32) then I think they are right.

The dilemna is whether we sell him this summer for 15m or we let him run his contract??

Rumors are that he will be replaced by M'biwa from Montpellier who seems a quality player and young.

Give him a two year extension at whatever he's asking. I can't imagine it's astronomical, and even then it is the last big contract of his career most likely. He's been a rock for us and a true professional. Keep him around for a few more seasons until Jenks is ready, then he can see out his career somewhere else.

Why is this so difficult for us to do?

Hisham El Mawan wrote:He and Cazorla are our only world-class players, if you ask me.

I think a couple years ago he'd be deemed irreplaceable but now, as much as I'd like him to stay, after a couple of leg breaks he isn't the same beast he was. Still quality though and deserves a two year contract.

I feel like swearing as we all know this could easily happen at this club.

Good job Jenkinson's looking decent, but who becomes his understudy at AFC (Arsenal Feeder Club).

The way I see it.....

He is a good as gone.....get used to it now and it won't be so much of a shock...

ralph avedikian wrote:Sagna's contract is up in june 2014, where he will be 31 by then. So in this case, if it is true that the club only wants to extend the deal 1 year (till he is 32) then I think they are right.

The dilemna is whether we sell him this summer for 15m or we let him run his contract??

Rumors are that he will be replaced by M'biwa from Montpellier who seems a quality player and young.

What makes you think we will get 15m for Sagna? Teams know he is unsettled and nearing the end of his contract, we'll be offered far less than his actual worth and as usual, we will accept. Of course we can refuse to sell him and keep him till his contract expires, but that's not the Arsenal way, is it?

The sad part is that I was actually expecting this.

Madrid would be surely interested, a lot of big clubs too that is why I feel we'll get 15m. Nothing less than 10m though.

Not surprised. The club shares some of the blame, but if he wants to leave he can fuck right off

Played so poorly against Chelsea.

Based on his recent comments , he loves the club, and shares the same frustrations as the fans. But it seemed he wasn't even trying against Chelsea.

Lucky we have Jenkinson, who I believe is ready (sure he will have times of poor form), but we have no back up behind Jenkinson if Sagna leaves.

Jonathan Prendergast wrote:Played so poorly against Chelsea.

Based on his recent comments , he loves the club, and shares the same frustrations as the fans. But it seemed he wasn't even trying against Chelsea.

Lucky we have Jenkinson, who I believe is ready (sure he will have times of poor form), but we have no back up behind Jenkinson if Sagna leaves.

"I would like, before leaving, because I will leave one day or another, to win something with my club. I don't want to answer yes or no, because you never know in football what can happen, but personally I give everything for my club."

From what I've gathered over recent seasons when a player says 'you never know' what can happen in football it usually means he'll be off.

I've been wanting Jenkinson to start over Sagna recently due to Sagna's poor form. Maybe Jenkinson will get a run out against Brighton.

Personally I say get rid......his performances have been poor all season...even in last nights win I thought he was average at best...take the money and re invest it...jenks has his crest on his heart and shows he wants to play and show what he can do..

I don't think "getting rid" is quite how I feel but i'd be comfortable with him leaving for a decent fee this summer and Jenkinson given an opportunity to be number one next season, I see Santos leaving so bringing in a player who could cover left and right back would be usefull.

I say get rid because its that age old thing...if it keeps happening then it will slowly chip away at you...so that's my stance on it...no point beating about the bush with this type of thing...he is not here we can all see it....cut the cord now before it does to much damage...start giving jenks more games....

I'm really not good enough Mike, i've lost all my pace over the first 10 yards...

Jenks1981 wrote:I'm really not good enough Mike, i've lost all my pace over the first 10 yards...

Dam!!! I had you at 14-1 first goal against Liverpool....

From today's Arseblog's Tim Stillman Column:

"Whilst on the subject of responsibility, I wanted to construct a defence of Bacary Sagna. Popular consensus says that he has lost form and, in our never ending search for conclusive narratives, this is because he is terminally pissed off and leaving / totally finished at the top level. (Delete as applicable). Whilst it’s true that Sagna hasn’t demonstrated the best form of his Arsenal career of late, I think there is plenty of mitigation.

In an attempt to both address the balance of the team and tempt Theo Walcott’s scribbling hand, we have allowed Walcott to play a kind of winger / striker hybrid role recently. This has put an awful lot of pressure on Sagna to cover the entire right flank on his lonesome. It’s no coincidence that Sagna has performed excellently in games where the flank has been covered more effectively, when the midfield has worked and Wilshere and Cazorla have drifted to the right more often. For instance, in the home matches against Swansea and West Ham.

Carl Jenkinson showed some very promising form early in the campaign, but he would have struggled more than Sagna has against this contextual backdrop. Let’s not forget that Jenkinson’s last action in an Arsenal shirt was to lose the ball on the right flank, leading to Swansea’s second counter attack goal in December’s 2-0 defeat. This precisely because he had no passing option on the right hand side and was forced to steer frantically back towards shore without a comrade in sight.

Around me at Stamford Bridge, many were turning on Sagna, which I found rather sad given the quality of his service to the club. Those visceral howls of frustration levelled at him failed to note the conditions he has been operating in in my opinion. I do wonder if there’s an element of us comforting ourselves as a fanbase ahead of his likely departure. It suits us to believe that Sagna is ready to be put to stud and that Jenkinson can immediately assume his mantle much in the same way that it suited us to believe that Gael Clichy was better than Ashley Cole.

Jenkinson’s time will come, but we are still a team carrying some inexperienced, if talented, young players. Wilshere, Gibbs and Chamberlain each have fewer than 100 senior appearances. It stands to reason that one of our most experienced and accomplished performers is retained to redress the balance of cognizance. With the appropriate amount of support on the right wing, Bacary Sagna is still an incredible full back. In a team that lacks overall leadership, he is still very much a must."

Excellent words.

He was terrible against Chelsea, but I'll leave it as a once off. And wouldn't have been part of the 'visceral howls' if at the game either.

Within what has been going on at the club every fan has his right no matter how harsh if will sound to voice his words....and from a lot of past players who seam to talk the talk and walk the walk....its just that,that pissed off the faithful....walking...showing a lack of heart when things are not going the way the want them to....and one thing these players need to bloody realise is they are paid a fucking healthy whack per month to do something they enjoy and wanted to do...if we the regular feel our voices need to be herd and that we are fed up with players saying one thing and showing another and are quite frankly bored and pissed off with being lied to on almost a regular basis then so be it...
No point tippy toeing around trying to protect a player who has for the vast majority been shit this season compared to how he has been...and I don't really think that having or not having Theo infront of him has really held up his game....Theo does fuck all in the way of defending and not of any noticeable capabilities..just a wonder back every now and then.
As far as I am concerned when our defence sorts its shit out we will stop getting pissed off with them...sagna has made some regular fuck ups this season regardless of players infront of him or not,......he has shown no heart and should we be asked to hold back if we are fed up with this lack of showing all the time should we wrap them up and feel sorry for them...

Fuck no.....get on and do the job....having a little sulky sulky when things are not going your way in football let's your whole team down..granted they need us just as much as we need them....but fuck it why jump to the defense of a snotty little shit who is not having a good time....and showing a lack of heart when things are not going your way won't sit well with the faithfull....they should fucking know this,for crying out loud its been going on all around them for years now.....

During the match, I don't think yelling at players helps. Support helps.