3. Bacary Sagna

Bacary has established himself as one of the Premier League’s most consistent full-backs.

The affable Frenchman took to English football like a duck to water when he arrived in the summer of 2007. Not for him the adaptation period that even luminaries like Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry needed. No, Bacary looked the part from day one.

First and foremost he has proved himself to be an exemplary defender. His positional awareness, tackling ability and aerial strength has strengthened Arsenal's right side. Few wingers get the better of him.

But Bacary has also impressed on the front foot. Neat and tidy in possession, his willingness to overlap gives Arsenal the width they need to stretch defences.

His debut season was always likely to be a tough act to follow but the French right back was as solid as ever in 2008/09. It’s hard to think of a mistake he made and the overriding image of Bacary is his spectacular overhead clearance which denied Aston Villa a certain goal on Boxing Day.

He will be an integral part of Arsenal’s back four this season and the same could be said of the French national side. Widely seen as the long-term successor to Willy Sagnol, Bacary will be hoping to play his part at the 2010 World Cup – if France get there.

 

MY YEAR

January

Bacary started six Gunners games in January but missed the FA Cup trip to Stoke City with a shoulder injury. At the start of the month he hailed the impact of Arsenal's substitutes in the 2-1 FA Cup victory over West Ham United. "It's always good when substitutes come on the pitch and can change the game," he said. "It's good for the team."

December

Bacary started five games for Arsenal in December, helping the team to clean sheets against Stoke City and Aston Villa. The defender joined local children at Central Children's Library, Islington on Thursday 3 December as part of his commitment to the Premier League's literacy campaign aimed at encouraging families to read together. Speaking after the event Bacary said he had enjoyed his visit. "It was great to talk about the books and played games based on them," he said.

November

Bacary played all three of Arsenal's Premier League matches in November and gave his reasons as to why the Gunners are conceding more goals this season. "We are scoring lots of goals, it is one of our best starts to the season," he told Arsenal TV Online "But we are conceding more goals. As a defender I am not happy with that because I want us to keep a clean sheet but the most important thing is to score more goals than the other team."

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