Bacary Sagna names the two Arsenal sales that got him “really upset”

Sagna has reflected on his time at Arsenal.

With no football on due to the coronavirus crisis gripping the world, we are at least being treated to a decent amount of enlightening interviews from former Arsenal players.

Former Gunners right-back Bacary Sagna is the latest to speak out on his difficult end to his time at the Emirates Stadium, as he criticised the sale of Robin van Persie and Alex Song in particular.

Both players left us in the summer of 2012 in what was a huge double blow, with Van Persie notably leaving us to join our rivals Manchester United.

Sagna had already seen the likes of Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leave in quick succession, but the Frenchman has suggested it was the quick double sale of RVP and Song that hit him the hardest.

Van Persie was in particularly devastating form at that time, having put his injuries behind him to become a goal machine for Arsenal, and he continued that way to fire Man Utd to the Premier League title in his first season at Old Trafford.

“I got upset, not when [Cesc] Fabregas left – because that was quite an obvious move – not when [Samir] Nasri left, but when Robin left. It was like a statement from the club. He left in a way that no-one understood because he was flying,” Sagna told Goal.

“He was a different type of player. An animal on the pitch, a goalscoring machine. When he left, I wondered why Arsenal didn’t try more to keep him.

“Even if they had to spend lots of money, just do it because you have to spend money to get another player. And if you want to win something, it’s going to take time for that player to adapt.

“I didn’t understand that and Alex Song’s move. The two of them left at the same time and I found out reading the French press. That got me really upset.”