Arsenal right back Bacary Sagna is all set to become a free agent at the end of the season, and as confirmed by Mirror’s John Cross, Wenger has admitted that the full back is nowhere close to extending his contract as of now. The replacement being touted in the press is Liverpool right back Glen Johnson (€12m) who has one more year remaining on his contract at Anfield.
Both the players have been long-time servants of their respective clubs- Sagna has been at Arsenal for almost seven seasons now while Johnson is now in his fifth season in Merseyside. With both fullbacks being highly rated, they are among the best in the league, and it would seem like a close call to trade one for the other. Here’s a look at some of the numbers from this season which may help us decide if it would be a wise decision for their clubs to let go the full backs.
So far this season, Sagna has featured in 24 out of Arsenal’s 27 league games and has been a very good presence down the right for a side that has lacked natural width due to the absence of Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for large parts of the season. Offensively, he has scored one goal from 10 shots, 70% of which have been on target. He has also created 14 chances including 2 assists.
Compared to that, Johnson has been plagued by injuries and has featured in only 18 out of the 27 games that Liverpool have played and that has resulted in the emergence of young right back Jon Flanagan. Johnson is yet to score this season and has managed just the solitary assist from the 18 chances he has created.
Defensively, Sagna’s numbers are much better compared to Johnson’s. Sagna has won 56% of the 54 tackles that he has attempted as well as 65% of the 133 headed duels, and he averages 6.8 defensive actions per game. Comparatively, Johnson has 64% of his 58 tackles but is way behind in terms of headed duels, having won just 41% of the 70 he’s attempted, and averages 5 defensive actions per game.
The numbers point to the fact that Sagna is more sound defensively and gets into the right positions more often than Johnson, who can often be caught up field in case of counter attacks. For a side that relies so heavily on a slick passing game, Sagna’s numbers are better than Johnson’s at 85% accuracy compared to Johnson’s 82% accuracy.
Given the game that Arsenal employ, Johnson would look to be the more natural option given his attacking instincts and comfort on the ball but Sagna’s numbers suggest that he has done enough to justify his place in the Arsenal side. Whether Arsene Wenger and the Arsenal board deem it to be sufficient to warrant an extension of contract is up to them to decide.
However, given the number of quality options available in the market, going for Glen Johnson wouldn’t be the wisest decision, but that is up to Wenger. Going by the numbers available for this season, signing Johnson wouldn’t necessarily be an upgrade on Sagna even though his experience of having played in the Premier League for so long would definitely be a crucial factor in any decision that is taken.
Stats courtesy of squawka