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Former Arsenal star Bacary Sagna includes FIVE Gunners in his ultimate Premier League XI... but which three players from London rivals Chelsea also make the cut?

4 months ago 29
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  • Sagna hung up his boots in 2019 after a short stint in MLS with Montreal Impact
  • He spent seven seasons with Arsenal before a three-year spell with Man City 

By Tum Balogun

Published: 17:52 BST, 17 July 2024 | Updated: 17:52 BST, 17 July 2024

Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna included four Gunners players, alongside himself, in his ultimate Premier League XI. 

The Frenchman spent seven seasons in north London following a £7million move from Auxerre in 2007. He went on to make 285 appearances for the Gunners and was part of the team that won the FA Cup in 2014. 

Despite also spending a short time with Premier League rivals Manchester City between 2014 and 2017, Sagna's allegiances were anything but divided as he opted for an all-Arsenal front line of Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Mesut Ozil.


Sagna and Ozil's Emirates spells almost perfectly coincided, in what was a trying period for the club under legendary manager Arsene Wenger

The French coach enjoyed far greater success during the early years of his time in England, aided by the presence of Henry, Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira - who Sagna selected as part of his midfield. 

Former Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna (left)  included five former Gunners in his ultimate Premier League Xi, including himself and ex-team-mate Mesut Ozil (right)

Sagna's backline included former Manchester United stars Patrice Evra (left) and Rio Ferdinand (right)

Ex-Chelsea star Eden Hazard was one of three former Blues to get the nod in Sagna's team

The 41-year-old, who hung up his boots in 2019 following a short stint in MLS with Montreal Impact, exclusively spoke to Mail Sport during Euro 2024 and revealed how he has spent his time since retirement. 

The former France international was keen to discuss an app that he has developed to assist young footballers without a club navigate the world of football.  

'I realised information was missing and so many kids were being screwed.' He told Mail Sport. 'The methodology was missing so I put everything inside of it. 

'From analysis to fitness to the legal side because I will also be explaining contracts. It's really important for the kids to understand contracts.

'I reproduce training sessions and I'm going to ty and post on a daily basis so they'll just have to follow to have the experience of a professional club. 

'It's a long work that has taken about three years in total,' he added. 'It took a lot of time, I started during Covid. I created everything myself so that's why it's taken a bit of time. 

'But hopefully it's going to be available to people soon and hopefully it'll have an impact on people because it's all about having a direct impact on kids. I made mistakes myself and if someone had shared that information it would've saved from me from many problems. 

'It's happening every day where people miss out on things because they're not perfectly informed. I signed in the UK myself when I was not perfectly informed so now they will be able to learn.'

For the majority of Sagna's time with the Gunners, his team were denied a coveted Premier League crown by Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United or a Chelsea side under the leadership of a slew of bosses. 

In an exclusively discussion with Mail Sport, Sagna also revealed what he has been working on since retirement

Sagna clearly has not forgotten the quality in those sides and he rounded out the remaining positions in his ultimate XI with players from those respective squads. 

Former Red Devils Edwin van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand and fellow Frenchman Patrice Evra were given the nod in goal and defence. 

Sagna opted to partner Ferdinand with his former England buddy and long-time Blues captain John Terry, while Claude Makelele and Eden Hazard were included in his midfield.  

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