Bacary Sagna in no hurry to forget Arsene Wenger success as Unai Emery leads new Arsenal era

Exclusive interview: The former Arsenal man talks to The Independent about his golden years in north London, the move to Manchester City and what it's like to work under Pep Guardiola

Bacary Sagna believes the departed manager deserved to be shown more respect in the final years of his tenure. (Getty)

Bacary Sagna knows that the moves he makes are no longer likely to dominate the headlines, even if it’s on deadline day.

Manchester City and Arsenal – two of the Frenchman’s former clubs, who happen to face off in the Premier League’s opening weekend – both had a quiet Thursday as Sagna signed a contract with the Montreal Impact in Canada.

It is a new challenge for a player who lost and then rediscovered his thirst for football with a surprise move to Serie A minnows Benevento in February of this year.

“There were offers at the top level from England and also abroad,” he told The Independent.

“I didn’t really want to go to certain places because I wasn’t really happy the last year at City, so I needed just to have a break. That’s why I turned down some offers.

“I have no regrets, I’m pleased with the choice I made going to Italy even if many people thought I was crazy. I really enjoyed those moments and spent a lovely four months there.”

Not only was the experience a welcome break from the scrutiny of English football, it turned out to be a totally different challenge; an opportunity to discover new things about himself and the game – even at the twilight of a long and successful career. “I think I probably learned more [in a relegation battle] than I did in the previous ten years,” he admits.

As a new era begins at the Emirates after the appointment of Unai Emery, Sagna, who spent seven years in north London, is confident the club are in good hands and capable of competing for major honours. “Now, it’s going to be like a new change, a new club, a fresh start. Many players are going to come, it’s going to be a fresh experience and I think it can only be a good thing for the club, because he [Emery] needs to bring more discipline and the players should fear for their position.

“He is the right man to take the club forward. He’s experienced some pressure while he was in Paris, the pressure at PSG is very heavy. He’s going to come under the same type of pressure [at Arsenal] because everyone is expecting him to change everything and to build the club back fast.

“I have always said Arsenal can beat anyone and nobody likes to play against them because of the quality of the players, but it’s a team who can slip and lose. For me, they’re a top quality a team and once the players find the stability and consistency, they’ll be back at the top. They’re capable of doing it. They have good young players and some experience, too, and I think they are motivated. It’s going to be a new start for all of them and they’ll be fighting for their positions. That competition is always good because the team will try to improve.”

Sagna believes his old club will challenge for major honours once again under Unai Emery (Getty Images)

While there is an air of optimism surrounding the Emery era, the lengthy reign of Arsene Wenger remains fresh in the memory. Sagna is keen not to forget what “the boss”, as he affectionately refers to him, has done for the club, and believes the departed manager deserved to be shown more respect in the final years of his tenure.

“I was quite surprised [that he stepped down], to be honest, because anyone can have a bad time. He built the club, he changed English football, he changed the English mentality. This is not the way to send him away. He had a difficult year but people should forgive a bit more and should be more patient. When he said he was leaving they said ‘oh, we’re going to give him a farewell day’ but this is not the way to act. You have to respect the person for what he has done for you and your club.”

He was left far from impressed by the behaviour of some supporters towards his old club’s most successful ever manager, evident in his passion when defending Wenger. “They went too far”, he said, “because for the majority of those years he made them proud. He was at the top. Then recently when the team was not doing so well they started acting stupid, hiring planes and doing stuff which had no sense. This is football and you can’t be at the top all the time. They should be more grateful for what he did for the club, for the achievements.”

While Sagna is full of praise for Wenger, he acknowledges that the players ultimately lost some of their drive at Arsenal, which led to his decision to leave for Manchester City. “I think the players got a bit too comfortable. That’s the reason I left Arsenal, because I needed to come out of that comfort zone, to improve and stay at a high level.

Sagna believes fans were wrong to treat Wenger the way they did at the end of his tenure (Getty)

“At some stage you have to come out of your comfort zone to keep going forward. If you stop doing it or you feel too comfy and every day is the same, at the end of the day you are the one losing everything. The club is in London, has great facilities and a great stadium. As I said before you can’t always be at the top, but on the pitch you have to show more desire.”

Sagna joined Manchester City in 2014 as a free agent and worked first under Manuel Pellegrini, who has recently taken charge at West Ham. “Pellegrini likes to bring joy on the pitch”, he said. “In training I remember his sessions being enjoyable and that he gives trust to the players. He’s South American; he likes for the players to relax, enjoy playing and adds competition even to the training sessions. I think after the difficulties they’ve had, they will do better.”

When Pellegrini’s time at City ended it was at the expense of Pep Guardiola, whose methods impressed Sagna during their time together. “Training was good. You had to be really focused; he’s a really chilled guy but in training he’s focused and he’s very, very demanding. I think you can see the difference this year – they didn’t let anything slip, and his training is quite tactical. He wants his players to always give 100 per cent in his training sessions because you play like you train. His sessions were shorter but very intensive.”

Many have questioned whether City can keep up their remarkable achievements from the 2017-2018 campaign, in which they became the first Premier League team to reach 100 points in a season. When asked if they could struggle under the pressure their success will bring, Sagna’s answer was simple: “No.”

Sagna joined Manchester City in 2014 and later played under Pep Guardiola (Getty Images)

“For me, the season they had was just a joke. When you think about their age, they’re all around 23-24 years old so they should have five good years to play together and they’ve tried to secure that, we’ve seen some players renewing their contracts. They can only improve. I think they’re going to do really well.”

Despite the success, Guardiola himself came under personal criticism from another of his former players in Yaya Toure, who accused the Spaniard of having a “problem with Africans” in an interview with France Football at the end of last season; a claim which Guardiola vehemently denies.

“I want to talk personally: I never had any problem with him”, says Sagna, who is of Senegalese descent. “I don’t know what relationship he had with other players but from a personal point of view I never had any problems. Whenever I was good, I played. At the end of the day he respected me the way I respected him.”