|
|
Arsenal's Bacary Sagna praises right-back deputies while he recovered from injury
The 28-year-old defender feels that the players that have stepped into his shoes did a great job in his absence, considering that most were performing out of their normal position
4 Feb 2012 10:52:00
By Tom Marshall-Bailey
Getty
Arsenal full-back Bacary Sagna has praised his team-mates who filled his vacant right-back slot during his rehabilitation from injury.
The French international suffered a broken leg in the Gunners' 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in October and was ruled out for four months.
Sagna returned to the first-team with 90 minutes under his belt during Arsenal's frustrating 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night and he was the first to compliment the job done by various members of the squad in his absence.
“They’ve done well, it’s not easy when you have to change position," Sagna told Arsenal.com. "I don’t see myself playing for two or three months at centre-back, for example!
"You have to adapt, and at this level you don’t get a lot of time to do that. The pace is different on the flanks and you have to cover a bit more distance, but the guys have coped well.”
A total of five players have tested themselves in the right-back position since Sagna sustained his injury. Natural replacement Carl Jenkinson was hit by a stress fracture in his back at the tail end of last year and so two centre backs and two defensive midfielders, by trade, have tried their luck.
Johan Djourou, Laurent Koscielny, Francis Coquelin and Nico Yennaris have all been deployed on the right-hand side of defence by Arsene Wenger and Sagna was particularly impressed with how the latter two youngsters handled themselves when they played.
“They’re amazing,” he said. “They just play and don’t worry about anything.
"I was happily surprised with Nico’s performance against Bolton back in October - he closed down really well and imposed himself well.
"He did an equally good job when he came on against Manchester United, and I’m very pleased for him – he’s a hard worker and deserves a lot of credit.
"It’s the same with Francis, he’s a midfield player first of all but he’s given his best at right-back and we know that he’s very good technically too.”
The French international suffered a broken leg in the Gunners' 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in October and was ruled out for four months.
|
Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
Sagna returned to the first-team with 90 minutes under his belt during Arsenal's frustrating 0-0 draw with Bolton Wanderers on Wednesday night and he was the first to compliment the job done by various members of the squad in his absence.
“They’ve done well, it’s not easy when you have to change position," Sagna told Arsenal.com. "I don’t see myself playing for two or three months at centre-back, for example!
"You have to adapt, and at this level you don’t get a lot of time to do that. The pace is different on the flanks and you have to cover a bit more distance, but the guys have coped well.”
A total of five players have tested themselves in the right-back position since Sagna sustained his injury. Natural replacement Carl Jenkinson was hit by a stress fracture in his back at the tail end of last year and so two centre backs and two defensive midfielders, by trade, have tried their luck.
Johan Djourou, Laurent Koscielny, Francis Coquelin and Nico Yennaris have all been deployed on the right-hand side of defence by Arsene Wenger and Sagna was particularly impressed with how the latter two youngsters handled themselves when they played.
“They’re amazing,” he said. “They just play and don’t worry about anything.
"I was happily surprised with Nico’s performance against Bolton back in October - he closed down really well and imposed himself well.
"He did an equally good job when he came on against Manchester United, and I’m very pleased for him – he’s a hard worker and deserves a lot of credit.
"It’s the same with Francis, he’s a midfield player first of all but he’s given his best at right-back and we know that he’s very good technically too.”
How do you stay up to date with football when on the move? With http://m.goal.com – your best source for mobile coverage of the beautiful game.
| Sign up with 188BET for a FREE bet up to £25 – Great Prices, Every Game |
|
| Open an account with Sportingbet today and get up to £50 in free bets! |
|
| Sign up with William Hill for a free bet up to £25 |
|
| Sign up with bet365 for a free bet up to £200 |
|
| Sign up with Paddy Power - Bet £10, Get £20! |
|
Live!
England 1-0 Belgium, Netherlands 4-0 Northern Ireland - follow all the international action LIVE! ahead of Euro 2012
With countries across the continent gearing up for their final warm-up games ahead of Euro 2012, join us for all the action from Saturday's friendlies. Get in touch with us via Twitter with your reaction.
Hosted by Joe Doyle
Hosted by Joe Doyle
20:06 BST
So, that game gave a few players a chance to impress for England. Who did/didn't? Will Welbeck start against France? Or Carroll? Or Defoe?!
19:59 BST
Unfortunately for Northern Ireland, they are trailing the Netherlands 4-0 at half-time. Looks like that one's all sewn up then.
19:54 BST
We're still getting plenty of Hazard chat on Twitter. A few are now saying that he's not worth the hype, others saying he was brilliant(!?) and others (which I agree with), saying he created much of his own hype. What do you think? Get involved!
19:46 BST
Joe Hart has also been giving his thoughts after the Belgium game: "It was a really tough game, a good run out. I thought we played well, [but] we were a little bit bitty at times.
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
"But, we came through. Obviously there were a lot of changes so it's good to get the result.
"Belgium are a very, very strong side who are going to be really good in the future. Vincent [Kompany] told me about them and said that they were coming good and I totally agree with him."
19:38 BST
Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
"[Gary] Cahill I suppose is slightly more of a concern for me because it is a jaw injury. We're desperately hoping the CT scan doesn't show any fracture and it's just going to be a bruising situation, which will be bad enough, but won't stop him taking part in the tournament. As far as John's [Terry] concerned he felt his hamstring a little bit. Again it wasn't a major thing when he came off but we still need to scan it just to be 100 per cent sure."
Suffice to say, if Cahill has broken his jaw, he won't play any part in the tournament.
Inside Goal.Com
-
Welbeck convinces Hodgson he is the man to lead the line
England beat Norway 1-0 at Wembley, with the Manchester United man hitting an impressive winner to stake his claim for a starting spot at Euro 2012
-
The five players Rodgers could sign to kick-start revolution
The new Reds boss was unveiled to the press on Friday and must immediately begin work on revitalising a thin squad with some additions in the transfer market
-
Managerial merry-go-round keeps spinning as Lambert takes Villa job
The Scot officially left Norwich City on Saturday to become the second new boss in June, following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool on Friday
-
Rodgers ushers in new Anfield era on his own terms
The Northern Irishman inevitably expressed his delight at landing the Reds job but evidenced plenty of the steely resolve which could see him become a success at Anfield
-
The definitive timeline of FSG's hunt for new manager
Kenny Dalglish's sacking at the end of the season sparked a massive hunt for the next Anfield boss, and the former Swansea man has been chosen after several turned the job down
