Bacary’s comments timed to nudge the board? + Abou’s comeback secrets
September 7, 2012
Just when you thought it was safe to stop talking about Arsenal’s transfer policy (for a few months at least) Bacary Sagna has reopened old wounds with an interview given to L’Equipe in which he bemoans the loss of key players every year:
At Arsenal, you’re back from holidays, you prepare and you see two of the players leave when competition returns. That’s the way it is since I am here. I’m used to it now.
Van Persie, I expected it. All of us expected it. It was ‘obvious’, if I shall put it in English.
But Alex Song for Barcelona… What a surprise. He is 24, he had three years left. I still can’t understand. It is a huge loss for the club.
Sagna goes on to appear to question his own future at Arsenal, pointing out that he himself has only two years to run on his deal and that, as yet, no one at the club has talked to him about extending it.
It’s a worrying situation indeed. We know that Cesc for example decided to leave not just because of his Barca DNA but because he was disappointed having joined the Invincibles to find himself two years later as the most senior player in the side. Van Persie publically questioned his own future when Cesc and Nasri left last year and now this year we have Sagna questioning his future as Song and Van Persie leave.
While it’s tempting to blast the club for not sorting out his deal and therefore helping to perpetuate this endless cycle of impending doom I feel relatively calm about the situation. I love Bacary. He’s been consistently one of the best right backs in the world ever since we signed him and his unwavering commitment to the cause is unrivalled. But he’s 29 years old and he does still have just under two years of his contract to run. He’s still recovering from his second broken leg in a year and with all the other ins and outs and contract negotiations undertaken by the club in recent weeks I’m not exactly surprised that Bacary hasn’t been at the top of the to-do pile.
I’m not saying we shouldn’t offer him an extension. I think we should and it sounds like we probably will. But I wouldn’t be surprised if an element of Sagna’s outburst was aimed at the club’s ears – just a little nudge to hurry them along.
It can’t be easy for a player to keep seeing your teammates move on though. I get the impression from his interview that he was good mates with Song and it’s one of the aspects that can often get overlooked when you’re revamping a squad. The unintended casualties that are the friendships within the team.
But as old alliances die, new ones are formed. Witness Olivier Giroud who’s been able to put aside his early difficulties in front of goal thanks to his friendship with Laurent Koscielny:
I’ve known him for four years. We played together for Tours in Ligue 2 and I spent my time with him and another friend of ours. I had a good time with him on and off the pitch and I’m very happy to join him at Arsenal. It’s a nice story for us.
Sometimes we go to a French restaurant together, Sometimes we go out with our wives. I like spending time with him.
Good for you guys. Here’s a nice idea. Why not invite Bacary Sagna along with you? He likes going to French restaurants. And he likes going out with his wife. He’s also feeling a little bit sad. Why not let him in to your little social group?
Andrey Arshavin will not be leaving the club, at least until January, after the Russian transfer window shut yesterday. Despite a bid from Dinamo Moscow the player apparently opted to stay put, hopefully to fight for his place rather than sit on the bench and continue to pick up his hefty pay cheque.
Finally there was an interesting little piece on French site RMCSport yesterday talking a bit about Abou Diaby’s latest comeback from injury. Apparently he’s been working with French fitness specialist Renaud Longuevre who has spoken about how vastly unbalanced Diaby’s body had been. He claims that last year Abou had the ‘right leg of a ten year old kid and the left leg of a 25 year old athlete.’ and that the bulk of their work has been spent on rebalancing his muscles.
I can sympathise. I’ve got the legs of a seventy year old man and the arms of a tiny girl. Unfortunately it’s too late for me but it’s encouraging that work has been done to fix Abou’s problems and hopefully his positive start to the season won’t just be another false dawn.
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12 Responses to “Bacary’s comments timed to nudge the board? + Abou’s comeback secrets”
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I hope we can get Sagna to sign an extension or new deal – 3 or 4 years would be nice, I know he loves the club but I can understand his questions, over the past 13 months we’ve changed our on pitch identity considerably and to do so in such a short period of time is a shock for everyone. Hopefully a nice signing in January will convince him the club mean this process to be a rebuild rather than a complete stripping of assets.
Great read as always. Keep the faith! (sorry).
I think Sagna is trying to make the club offer him an extension longer than just 1 year. He’ll be 31 by the end of his current deal, and while the club have been adjusting their “no long term deals over 30″ policy to changed circumstances, it could still be an issue for them to tie themselves to an ageing fullback. The fact is, it’s really hard to predict how Sagna’s abilities will look like when he’s over 31. We know Evra is having speed and fitness issues, and he’s only 31.
I’m really curious what will come of this one. We do need him to stay for those 2 years at least. Jenkinson isn’t ready yet, and Bellerin needs perhaps another 2 seasons before he can move up.
MY FINAL COMMENT FROM YESTERDAY’S POST
@ Khalifha
“Big Al, haha, I AGREED with everything you posted yesterday.
Yours Devastatingly, Clarity.”
—————————————-
@ Khalifha
Cheers buddy, I genuinely wasn’t clear on it, and certainly no offence intended (whether friend or foe).
From what I have been told sagna,a bit pis.ed off because he was overlooked,for the captain/vice captains positions as he has been there longer than both the verm and arteta
Couldn’t care less how happy or otherwise he is. He has suffered a broken leg twice in the same place within a season. It is only prudent that the club looks at his copy before looking at a new deal.
Supporters need to move away from the media created perception that somehow the footballing world is hermetically sealed regarding talent. There are always other options out in the market. Who had heard of Sagna before he came? As long as Jenkinson continues to progress and we have Sagna under contract, there is no need to worry unduly. At the same time I would expect the club to be monitoring the footballing world for a potential replacement, if Jenks does not progress or a number 2 if he does.
It’s not only players that can play hardball.
- copy
+recovery
Personally I don’t find anything that Bacary has said, if reported accurately?, that causes any worries. It sounds like he is just saying what he thinks. The fact that he can just dismiss the RVP move as ‘expected’, without any doom and gloom for our prospects says a lot. He is a buddy of Alex Song, and I guess not having a fun loving guy around will be a loss to him personally. He was also an advocate for M’vila coming to Arsenal, at a time that that looked likely. Put those two together, probably before the Liverpool performance was fully appreciated, and a media very quick to jump on anything and everything that they can beat Arsenal with, and it all gets overblown.
True, he may be thinking about his own position regards contract talks, but given that Gibbs is also on the same length of contract, this is the normal time to talk of extensions … with a bit of prompting from his agent no doubt? .. it will all get sorted with the minimum of fuss.
Regards Diaby’s ‘imbalance’ – I trust our physios have learnt enough to prevent the same hiccups that occurred last season happenning to Jack Wilshere? It should be remembered that he too has been hopping around on one leg for a very long time? Which probably accounts for all those returning dates being put back so often. It would be nice to think that when he takes to the field, in three matches he will be as good as new. Alas, Diaby did have a break after first coming back, so I think they will take Wilshere’s progress very steadily.
Zzdis, Good post at 10:03.
Big Al, ah no worries.
I appreciate Sagna’s honesty and bluntness(?) during the interview but i wish he could’ve been more professional. Questioning the decision to sell Song in public/through the media will not aid Arsenal in any way, yeah we as fans can speculate about the ‘whys and motives behind Song’s sale but unlike him we can’t call AW and find out, so why do this through ze media, although i can’t say i don’t understand his frustration.
Anyway, As others have stated he has suffered two broken legs(same spot) in the past year so he might not be first in line when it comes to contract renegotiations but he has been the best/most consistent RB in the league during the past 4 seasons and most consistent Arsenal player, if anyone deserves a new contract its Bacary Sagna.
@Khalifha
Thanks.
As for Bac, I really think there should be some media ban on footballers. No stupid Twitter feeds, no conversations that can easily be taken out of context…
I really hope Sagna can return to his best. In addition to his incredible defensive solidarity, he gives us confidence on the right side attack. While his crossing isn’t the best, he seems to make Walcott play better (maybe just by having the comfort of having someone so good over there?)
Another dimension he added last season was a startling number flicked on headers won that put Theo through on an attack with a few meters to spare, which is exactly where we want him. Jenkinson has done admirably, but I’d love to see that back in our game.
@ zdzis, 7th, at 4:25 pm
Players should do their talking on the pitch.
That’s the way it was way back when; but ego and stupidity both shaken and stirred is a bad mix.
Players talk to ‘shake things up’, to see where they stand, to stand up for themselves, maybe to put themselves in the shop window.
Arsenal have been far too soft in the past; now, I feel, Wenger is fed up to back teeth of the cr+p; from Vieira to Nasri to van Persie.
At long last I believe he’s toughening up. About time too. The Theo situation is clear, at least to me… Wenger’s standing his ground, and Theo will be leaving.
Many players at many clubs (with the help of advisors and agents) have become too big for their boots.
If Sagna is to be construed by the club as questioning Wenger’s/ the club’s direction, then he’s has made a mistake, and he’s as good as gone!