New Arsenal deal for Sagna

Arsene Wenger has promised to reward Bacary Sagna with an improved contract after the right-back's outstanding first season in English football. A strong presence both in defence and attack, the Frenchman was last week named in the Professional Footballers' Association's team of the year and has attracted the attention of a number of moneyed clubs.

Already likely to lose the out-of-contract Mathieu Flamini to Serie A and concerned that Alexander Hleb is ready exploit Fifa transfer regulations to buy out the remainder of his contract, Wenger is eager to tie key players down to revised deals. 'The situation at the moment has become much more unstable with the Webster clause,' Wenger said recently. 'Before, when you had a player under contract for five years, they were your player for five years; now, they can leave after three years [if] under the age of 28 [when they signed the deal]. You are always confronted with potential instability. Players are admired all over the world, they are tapped up, agents are tapped up, agents get nervous and they see if they can do a deal.'

Sagna, 25, signed from Auxerre for a reported £6million. The France international has been ruled out of the domestic season with an ankle injury suffered in March, but may yet be called up for his nation's European Championship campaign.

Source:Guardian