Bacary Sagna

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Bacary Sagna
Personal information
Full name Bacary Sagna
Date of birth 14 February 1983 (1983-02-14) (age 25)
Place of birth    Sens, France
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)[1]
Playing position Right Back
Club information
Current club Arsenal
Number 3
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2002–2004
2004–2007
2007–		 Auxerre B
Auxerre
Arsenal		 034 0(1)
087 0(0)
029 0(1)   
National team2
2002–2006
2007–		 France U21
France		 028 0(0)
002 0(0)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 12:00, 23 March 2008 (UTC).
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of 07:37, 8 November 2007 (UTC).
* Appearances (Goals)

Bacary Sagna, also sometimes spelt Bakary or Bakari, (born 14 February 1983 in Sens, Bourgogne) is a French International football defender of Senegalese descent, currently playing for Arsenal. His cousin Ibrahima Sonko also plays in England, for newly relegated Reading.[1]

Contents

[edit] Club career

[edit] Auxerre

Sagna made 87 Ligue 1 appearances for Auxerre and was part of the squad that won the French Cup in 2005. He also played in the UEFA Cup in each of his three seasons with the club's first team, making a total of 17 appearances in the competition. He was also voted into the Ligue 1 team of the season for his outstanding displays at the right back position.

[edit] Arsenal

On 12 July 2007, Sagna completed a move to Arsenal from Auxerre for an undisclosed fee, thought to have been an initial £6.1m (€9m) that could rise to £7.45m (€11m).[2] He wears the number 3 shirt, most recently worn for Arsenal by former defender Ashley Cole and most notably fans favourite Nigel Winterburn.[3]

Sagna made his debut in an Arsenal shirt on 19 July 2007 as a starter in the squad that beat Turkish club Genclerbirligi 3–0 in a friendly at Austria's Bad Waltersdorf Stadion.[4]

In his Premier League debut, Sagna started in the 2–1 win over Fulham at the Emirates and again impressed. The French full-back is predominantly a right-back, although he can play centre-back, left-back and in midfield. Despite his recent move to the Premier League, he has displaced Emmanuel Eboué as the preferred starting right-back for Arsene Wenger, while Eboué plays right wing.

On March 23, 2008, Sagna tallied his first Premier League goal off a header from a corner kick to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead against rivals Chelsea F.C.. The goal was of particular significance to him as he dedicated it to his late brother who died a few days before. He could be seen looking up to the sky while pointing at it. However, he went off injured before Chelsea came back to win the game 2-1. At the end of the season, he was named in the PFA's Team of the Year.

On June 4, 2008, is was announced that Sagna has signed a new deal with the Gunners following a very successful first season. Arsenal have signed him for a further two years, taking his contract up to 2014. Sagna stated. "I love Arsenal, they are a great club", and further added, "The manager is also very good and next season we will be fighting for all the trophies." .[5]

[edit] International career

Sagna has previously represented the French under-21 team, with whom he also participated at the 2006 European Under-21 Championship.

He received his first senior international cap for France on 22 August 2007 in a friendly match against Slovakia on the road, which they won 1–0, coming on as a substitute for François Clerc after one hour of play. He went on to make his competitive debut for France in their 6–0 away win at the Faroe Islands on 13 October 2007 in the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, playing all 90 minutes. It was his only appearance in the Euro 2008 qualifying.

[edit] Career Honours

With AJ Auxerre

Individual

  • Auxerre's player of the season for the 2006–07 season
  • Voted France's best right-sided defender in the 2006–07
  • French Ligue 1's Team of the Year 2006–07
  • Member of PFA Team of the Year: 2007–08.
  • Voted Premier League's best right-back in the 2007-08 season

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Sonko reveals Arsenal family link", readingfc.co.uk, 2007-11-08. Retrieved on 2007-11-08. 
  2. ^ Sagna signe jeudi à Arsenal (French). lequipe.fr. Retrieved on July 13, 2007.
  3. ^ "Auxerre's Sagna signs for Arsenal", BBC Sport, 2007-07-12. Retrieved on 2007-07-12. 
  4. ^ "Match Report", Arsenal Online, 2007-07-19. Retrieved on 2007-07-19. 
  5. ^ http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_3647884,00.html

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Arsenal F.C. – current squad

1 Lehmann • 2 Diaby • 3 Sagna • 4 Fàbregas • 5 Touré • 6 Senderos • 7 Rosický • 9 Eduardo • 10 Gallas • 11 van Persie • 13 Hleb • 15 Denílson • 17 Song • 19 Gilberto • 20 Djourou • 21 Fabiański • 22 Clichy • 24 Almunia • 25 Adebayor • 26 Bendtner • 27 Eboué • 30 Traoré • 31 J. Hoyte • 32 Walcott • 34 Gibbs • 35 Nordtveit • 36 Randall • 37 Rodgers • 38 Simpson • 39 Lansbury • 40 Mannone • 41 G. Hoyte • 42 Mérida • 43 Barazite • 44 Ogogo • 45 Dunne • 46 Gilbert • 47 Steer • –– Ramsey • –– Vela • Manager: Wenger
Persondata
NAME Sagna, Bacary
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Professional footballer
DATE OF BIRTH 1983-02-14
PLACE OF BIRTH Sens, France
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH