'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Arsenal’s Mr. Reliable – The Unsung Hero
Arsenal has seen its fair share of players come and go, some of whom have attained legendary status and some who have left the club in search of greener pastures after a few trophy less seasons. But if there’s one player in the team who deserves all the accolades that come his way, a no nonsense player who sticks to his task no matter what, it is Arsenal’s Mr. Reliable – the one and only Bacary Sagna.
Affectionately called Bac by his team mates, the Frenchman has been one of the most consummate professional football players currently plying their trade in the Premier League. As Ashley Cole, one of the Premier League’s best left backs in recent years, left the club to sign for Chelsea in 2007, Bacary Sagna took his number 3 shirt and has since then been the mainstay in an ever changing Arsenal back line.
Sagna’s story did not begin at Arsenal. He played for the French Ligue 1 team Auxerre for three seasons between 2004 and 2007, even reaching the final of the French Cup in 2005. With some solid performances for the club, the right back made it to the Ligue 1 team of the season in 2006-07. Sagna was also interested in representing Senegal but he never heard back from them until he decided to play for France, by which time it was too late to switch loyalties.
Arsene Wenger’s team of scouts is well known for spotting young talent and the ex-Arsenal double winner Gilles Grimandi monitored Sagna’s progress for those three years in France. French players are no strangers to Arsenal, what with the likes of Thierry Henry, Robert Pires and Patrick Vieira having left their mark in the club’s legacy. Arsenal paid a fee in the region of £6 million and Sagna joined the club in the summer of 2007.
Sagna had no problems adapting to the Premier League and was one of the most consistent players in the squad in his first season, prompting the Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) to name him in their Team of the Year at the end of the season. It was in his debut season that he scored his first of three goals for the club against Chelsea but also picked up an injury in the same game that would rule him out for the rest of the season and also the Euro 2008 Championship.
However, Sagna will remember that season more so for the tragic loss of his elder brother Omar Sagna a week before Arsenal’s Champions League knockout game with AC Milan at the San Siro. Bacary missed the game with Manchester United that weekend as he went back to France to be with his family, but on the advice of his father, he returned to London to train with the team before departing to Milan for the second leg. This brave gesture earned the respect of Arsenal fans throughout the world and made him a respectable figure in their eyes. Arsenal went on to win that game 0-2 and advanced to the next round in the Champions League.
The very next season, Sagna signed a new contract that would keep him at the club till 2014. As his performances over the next couple of seasons became more notable, it was evident that he would always be the first choice over the erratic Emmanuel Eboue. Ardent Gooners will remember that “magnificent and absolutely stunning” goal line clearance off Agbonlahor’s header against Aston Villa which prompted fans to create wallpapers with Sagna suspended in mid-air, ready to kick the ball out.
His tireless runs up and down the right flank, his superb positional awareness, an exceptional ability to read the game and total concentration for the full ninety minutes ensured that Sagna was never known for any defensive lapses. Opponents’ left wingers were generally left frustrated at the end of the game as Sagna was always there to close them down. As Arsenal’s goal keeping worries mounted every season and the back four changed personnel every few games, Sagna’s place in the team was never questioned, easily making 40 or more appearances for the club every season.
On the attacking front, Sagna provided extra width on the right. Many a time, he could be seen overlapping the right winger and whipping in crosses for the strikers to convert. His linkup play with wingers and midfielders was almost telepathic and always enforced Wenger’s philosophy of playing the beautiful game.
The 2010-11 season was another eventful one for Sagna even before it started as he was part of the French team that had a disastrous World Cup campaign in South Africa. Putting that behind him, he made his 100th league start for the Gunners in October against Chelsea and also scored his second Arsenal goal against Everton at Goodison Park. But he also picked up his first red card in an Arsenal shirt against Partizan Belgrade in the final group game in the Champions League which saw him miss the knockout game against Barcelona. He even picked up his first red card in the League as he literally went head to head with Pablo Zabaleta (who also received his marching orders) in the stalemate against Manchester City at the Emirates. The season ended on a personal high note for Sagna as he was included in the PFA Team of the Year for a second time in his career, thereby stamping his authority as one of the best right backs in the business.
Arsenal have missed the services of the marauding full back this season after an injury in the North London Derby at White Hart Lane caused by an awkward fall after a challenge from Spurs’ Assou-Ekotto. The injury has kept him sidelined since last October and he has admitted that it has been ‘painful’ and that he felt ‘totally useless’ biding his time until his ankle recovered. His recovery is now ahead of schedule and he has started running. He is even keeping two screws in his leg to ensure he makes his comeback into the first team soon, rather than wait another two months and miss an important period of Arsenal’s season with games coming thick and fast. Whether we will see him play against Manchester United is highly doubtful as he will need to regain match fitness but we should see him back soon by the end of January or early February.
Nothing would please Arsenal fans more than to hear him say, “I’ll be right back!”
