Posts Tagged ‘Bacary Sagna’

Football

Arsenal update: Sagna, Remy, Rooney, Draxler and Ulreich

By Stefano on May 9th, 2013
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Morning Gooners, there’s plenty to chew on today with the rumour mills working over time predicting who Arsenal are going to sign in the summer.

One player who might not be going anywhere is right back Bacary Sagna. A couple of sources are saying that his dream move to PSG has broken down and that the player will stay at The Emirates. Even though he hasn’t maintained his impeccably high standards this year I think most Arsenal fans would probably like to see him stay.

One deal that is surely on the cards is the capture of Loic Remy from QPR. Wenger likes him, he wants to come, he wouldn’t be pricey, Arsenal need more strikers. Done deal?

Well apparently not. The Daily Star says that the Arsenal board aren’t convinced by Remy and instead fancy a move for Vitesse Arnhem striker Wilfried Bony instead.

Bony has been cracking them in for fun in Holland this year and will be available for the low price of just £7 million.

Personally I am not convinced by this one and I think that Remy has done enough to secure a move to North London, unless Wenger makes two marquee striker signings.

With Fergie readying his gardening gloves the future of Wayne Rooney has come under the spotlight again. The new manager, that’ll be David Moyes then, needs to make a marquee striker signing – Lewandowski? – as well as accommodate Wellbeck and RVP (who will be nowhere near as effective next season, just you watch). This would then shunt Rooney into the midfield or on to the subs bench, or into the arms of Arsenal? Well Arsene is a fan, and we could afford his transfer fee, although his wages would be an issue.

The problem for Moyes is that if he does want to go it would have to be Bayern or PSG. That’s because Man United are way too smart to sell their star players to Premiership rivals, unlike someone else we could mention…

Can’t see this one happening, but Le Grove is enjoying the speculation.

Another move that is being mooted is for Schalke’s teenage playmaker Julian Draxler. As has been mentioned many times before Borussia Dortmund need a player to replace Mario Gotze who is heading for Bayern and Draxler fits the bill perfectly. Again Wenger has admired the youngster for a while now and he has hinted that he might consider a move to England, so you never know.

Finally the search for a keeper continues and has now shifted to Germany and Stuttgart’s Sven Ulreich. The young keeper, who has played well this season, has been mooted as a possible target by TalkSport. Would he much of an upgrade on our Pole though? I thought the whole point of buying a new keeper was to get in some experience to help the youngsters.



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Football

Arsenal update: Corchia and Rangel lined up to replace Sagna, Benteke news

By Stefano on March 21st, 2013
2 comments

It now seems almost certain that Arsenal right back Bacary Sagna will be leaving the club in the summer window with PSG among the favourites to land the player.

But who will Arsenal line up to replace him? The big decision for Wenger is whether to promote the promising England youngster Carl Jenkinson, or to buy a first choice right back.

Goal.com claims that Wenger is set to buy a right back who can challenge Jenkinson and that Sochaux’s Sebastien Corchia and Swansea’s Angel Rangel are top of the list for now.

Corchia has represented France at Under-21, Under-19, Under-18 and Under-17 level, but ironically is being kept out of the full French team by Sagna. He has had an excellent season and at 22 is slightly older than Jenkinson.

If Wenger wants to plump for experience then 30 year old Rangel would be the better option. He has a contract until 2016.

One Premiership player that has certainly caught the eye this season is Aston Villa’s Christian Benteke. There are ongoing whispers that Benetke is keen to move to the north London club and his form of 22 goals this season in 37 appearances means that he is on many managers shortlists.

Benteke’s Belgian colleague Romelu Lukaku has called for compatriot Christian Benteke to quit Aston Villa at the end of the season.

Lukaku said:

I hope Christian will make a move to a big club so he can improve his game as well.

So would a player with Premiership experience be the answer upfront for Arsenal?



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Football

Arsenal update: Sagna exit? New right back lined up, Chelsea’s Nathaniel Chalobah tracked

By Stefano on February 22nd, 2013
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So Gunners fans – does Bacary Sagna have a long term future at the club? That’s the question being posed this morning by The Guardian.

The right back,  who was the only member of the Arsenal defence to come out of Tuesday’s game with any credit, is mulling over his future after only being offered a one year extension to his contract.

The big concern is Sagna’s injury record. He has broken his leg twice in two years and given the fact that the player has just turned 30 it seems  that his days at Arsenal may be numbered. The Guardian reckons that PSG will be interested in the player, who has 33 caps for France.

Arsene Wenger has already hinted that Sagna’s future is in the balance. Last week the manager said

“He has criticised his own form recently but the things you never question from Bacary are his commitment, his mental attitude, his desire to win and his intelligence. If he has not been playing as he would expect, it is down to his injury. It takes time to come back, and he has played through a lot of pain – in fact, he is one of the strongest players I have met when it comes to doing that. He’s hugely respected here, and if he’s not at the level we know he can achieve then we are tolerant because we know it’s not down to a lack of commitment. It’s just because he has come back from a long-term injury.”

Arsenal have a potential replacement in Carl Jenkinson, who was superb when asked to cover for Sagna last season. This year his form has been a little more mixed. Sagna is apparently injured at the moment and won’t play on Saturday against Aston Villa giving Jenkinson the chance to remind Arsenal fans what talent he has.

The club are also being linked with another right back in the guise of Feyernoord’s Daryl Janmaat.

According to The Mirror

Janmaat, who has won three Dutch caps, joined from Heerenveen last summer and has been watched by Arsenal who already have a partnership with Feyenoord which has seen them loan players and work together.

The Daily Star reports that Arsenal are planning a shock move for Chelsea starlet Nathaniel Chalobah who is currently on loan at Watford. According to the paper Arsenal believe they can tempt the player, who can start in both defence and midfield positions, to move to North London by offering more regular appearances that he would get at Chelsea. The 18 year old Englishman has been in superb form for Watford this season.

 



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Football

Bacary Sagna “100% devoted” to Arsenal – but do Gunners fans care?

By Stefano on February 5th, 2013
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Amidst all the talk of contract renewals for Robin Van Persie and Theo Walcott in the last twelve months very little has been written about the contract situation of another senior member of the Arsenal squad – one Bacary Sagna.

The right back’s contract will run out in summer 2014, which in theory will make him a top target for European clubs come the next transfer window.

Today Sagna moved to quell speculation that he would be leaving The Emirates. Saying that he was “100% devoted” to their club Sagna told French paper L’Equipe (which has been reported widely including by ESPN) he is happy at Emirates Stadium.

“I’m 100% devoted to my club. I’m only thinking about defending Arsenal’s colours until the end of my contract. The supporters are annoyed with me when they hear my name linked to PSG, but I haven’t got anything to do with that. I’ve had no contact whatsoever.”

Sagna also said that he had “tears in [his] eyes,” when he was called up for the French squad – the first time he has been included in a year and a half.

So Arsenal fans, the 29 year old wants a new contract? But does he deserve one? Sagna’s form this season has been inconsistent. There have been games where he has been sublime, yet in others his distribution poor and his defending second rate. Waiting in the wings is young Englishman Carl Jenkinson who in December signed a long term contract with the club. He has continued to look sharp and capable each time he has deputised for the Frenchman this season.

So do Arsenal need to renew Sagna’s contract? Personally I think it might be time for Sagna to move on. Arsenal would get a reasonable sum for the player in the summer and that money could be invested elsewhere – maybe a commanding central defender in the Mats Hummel mould would be ideal. In Hector Bellerin, a product of the Barcelona youth academy Arsenal have a ready-made understudy for Jenkinson.

So is time to cash in on Bacary?



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Football

Premiership preview – Is it time for Arsenal to drop their captain Thomas Vermaelen?

By Stefano on November 30th, 2012
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It has been a difficult start to life as Arsenal captain for Thomas Vermaelen. The Belgian has been a popular figure at the club since his signing in 2009 and was handed the armband in the summer after the departure of Robin van Persie, but has performed disappointingly so far this season, making a couple of high-profile errors.

In stark contrast, Per Mertesacker has started the campaign very well, defending reliably and scoring his first goal in English football, the crucial equaliser at home to Tottenham. Meanwhile, Laurent Koscielny is probably the best partner for both players: Mertesacker needs a quick player alongside him, while Vermaelen appreciates the Frenchman sweeping up if he loses challenges.

This presents Arsene Wenger with a selection dilemma: Mertesacker is the first centre-back on the teamsheet at the moment, and Koscielny is his natural partner. That wasn’t an issue when Kieran Gibbs was injured, because Vermaelen could move out to left-back. But now Gibbs is available again, and offers a more reliable attacking threat from full-back. At home to Swansea, Arsenal will need someone who can stretch the play, and also a quick player against Swansea’s wing threat.

Vermaelen was omitted from the side that drew at Villa Park last weekend, but with Arsenal facing three league fixtures in eight days, that could be explained by squad rotation. Wenger leaving out his captain for a second consecutive weekend would be significant development; but on form, it’s Mertesacker, Koscielny and Gibbs who deserve to be in the side alongside Bacary Sagna.

This post courtesy of Pick Our Team. PickOurTeam is a new type of football community giving fans an opportunity to have a meaningful say on the formation and selection of their team. PickOurTeam is the voice of the fans – collecting views on who should play where and ratings on how the players, manager, and referee perform each week. Every match the findings are compiled and presented back to the fans.



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