The former Arsenal full-back considers his old club have the right guy in charge to bring back the glory days to the North London outfit.
The Gunners haven’t been crowned winners of the English top flight since Arsene Wenger’s Invincibles went through the full 2003-04 season without losing a match.
In recent years they’ve slipped well off the pace from the Premier League, however, finishing fifth and sixth in the last two seasons and before the coronavirus enforced suspension of the present effort, they were ninth – 42 points off leaders Liverpool.
“I think so,” he advised Target, when asked if Arsenal can win the title in the upcoming few years. “Leicester did it no-one expected them to, but they had a terrific team spirit and were battling each and every game.
“Arsenal can do it also because in case you face Arsenal it’s always difficult due to the way they play and move.”
And why Sagna has a belief that his former team can soon begin challenging towards the surface of the table is due to the appointment of Arteta, who replaced Unai Emery in December.
Sagna – who had been at Arsenal for seven years between 2007 and 2014 – played the Spaniard during his final two seasons in the Emirates and knows exactly what he’ll bring behind the scenes.
“I think it was a terrific choice because he’s the personality,” the 37-year-old said.
“If he is not happy about a player he’ll go straight to them and let them know they’re from the team and they might need to work to return.”
Before football throughout the country was suspended on account of the coronavirus pandemic, Arsenal were the only group to not have suffered a Premier League defeat in 2020.
Since taking charge, Arteta has only lost one league match and three successive victories prior to the break in activity had seen that the Gunners move to within five points of fifth-placed Manchester United.
Sagna, who’s currently residing in Montreal, has been seeing interest from afar and states the effect Arteta has made is clear to see.
“If you examine the team, even the team spirit has changed,” he said. “Whether it is running or monitoring, they’re like animals.
“Perhaps he gave them a bit more assurance, some more love, I do not understand what he’s done but he has changed something.
“It’s because he’s a strong spirit and a strong mindset. He is somebody who is charismatic.
Despite being thrilled by the upturn in the form beneath Arteta, Sagna – that made 284 looks during his spell with Arsenal – still has significant reservations about the way his former team is being run.
During an appearance on Sky Sports in December, Sagna said it felt as though Arsenal was’a circus of a team’ while discussing the direction and the decision making by those in power.
And those feelings have not changed, even though the right-back was eager to point out that his perspective doesn’t have anything to do with the present squad or what’s been happening on the pitch.
“When I called the club a circus, it wasn’t about the players, the functionality or their caliber,” he said.
“The way you can be in London, which is possibly the most attractive city in Britain, have a terrific stadium like the Emirates and not be doing more?
“Fundamentally, the club can bring in any participant today because every player enjoys Arsenal. If you’re any player in overseas leagues, their beloved team along with United is Arsenal.
“Obviously now with big spenders such as City coming to the game they’ve attempted to have an ethic, which I admire a whole lot, but you need to make some decisions.
“Do not expect the players to perform like groups that have maybe two squads.”
Sagna added: “As a participant you want the club to show some want. Not necessarily in spending cash, but someone should run the club correctly and you do not really know who’s leading Arsenal. Who’s taking the big decisions?
“Back in the day, you understood Arsenal were taking decisions through Arsene Wenger. Since he left, you do not know who’s leading.
“For a club like Arsenal, I believed there could be more direction. That is why I said that about it being a circus. It is because I love Arsenal. When you love something, it is like having a connection with somebody.
“Whenever I am critical, I am not critical in a terrible way. I just can not understand what is happening.”
