Bacary Sagna has not had a good season. There’s been plenty of speculation regarding his future and whether this is what’s affected his game is up for debate.
What’s not in question, however, is that he can do a lot better and offer the club a lot more. The fans know it, the pundits know it, the players himself knows it and surely Arsene Wenger knows it.
His lifeless displays in the right-back position this year have been hard to take, especially considering his all action displays over the years. When I think of Sagna, I think of his barn-storming header against Tottenham last season, I think of him referring to Spurs as ‘the enemy’ and of him earning the nickname, ‘Mr Consistent’, for the excellent standard of performance he’d churn out week-by-week. I think of the man who was a regular feature in the Premier League team of the year and who was considered by many to be the best right-back in the country.
I certainly don’t think of the man who has been ambling up and down Arsenal’s flanks this season, miss-placing passes, miss-timing tackles and generally not looking all that fussed. I think it’s fair to say that I miss the old Sagna.
Well, thank goodness we got a peak of the old Sagna in his stand-out performance against Sunderland at the weekend. Carl Jenkinson’s rash tackling saw the Gunners reduced to ten-men, with Bacary Sagna taking up a rather unorthodox role as a centre-back and Aaron Ramsey moved into the free full-back slot. Sagna was imperious, repelling wave after wave of attacks from the Black Cats and being in the right place at the right time at every given occassion.
I hope he can keep up this level of performance throughout the rest of the year. The man himself certainly feels he can improve:
“This is a part where I need to get better and work more on my form. It has been a long time I’ve been working on my game as I didn’t really have a pre-season. I need to breathe a bit but, at a high level, you don’t have time to breathe because you have a game every few days and you have to keep going. I am looking forward to coming back to my best.” (Source: ESPN)
You’re not the only one who’s looking forward to that, Bacs! Let’s hope he can pull it off.
What’s your take? How important is Bacary Sagna to Arsenal?
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