Sagna to hold fresh Arsenal contract talks this week

The defender’s future could finally be resolved as the Gunners try to secure him on a new deal before the summer amid interest from marquee French and Italian clubs

EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey

Bacary Sagna is set to hold fresh talks with Arsenal this week in a new bid to finally end his long-running contract saga, Goal can reveal.

The Gunners want to tie the Frenchman to an extended deal and stave off interest from a string of leading clubs on the continent.

Goal understands that Sagna has offers on the table from Paris-Saint Germain, Monaco and Inter.

Arsenal have been in talks with the 30-year-old, who can leave on a free when his contract expires in the summer and is able to sign a pre-contract agreement with a new club from this month, for nearly 18 months.

As reported by Goal, negotiations between Sagna and Arsenal initially collapsed at the end of 2012 after the Gunners refused to meet the player’s demands for a two-year extension and an upgrade on his £60,000-a-week salary. Talks re-opened last August and a dialogue has continued over recent months without a breakthrough being reached.

However, there is growing confidence at Emirates Stadium that an agreement can now be struck with Sagna.

Arsene Wenger wants to hold on to the long-serving right-back, who has been a key figure in Arsenal’s resurgence this season and offers experience and versatility that would not be easy to replace.

The Gunners looked closely at replacement right-backs last year, with Schalke’s Atsuto Uchida and Sochaux’s Sebastien Corchia top of their target list, as Sagna appeared on the verge of leaving Arsenal.

The Londoners had been ready to sell him last summer following a breakdown in his relationship with the club in the final months of the 2012-13 season and question marks about his attitude.

However, PSG, who had been most closely monitoring the Frenchman, failed to follow up their interest with a concerted move and he knuckled down well in pre-season ahead of one of his most impressive seasons since joining Arsenal from Auxerre in 2007.

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