Sagna: No sleeping Gunners this season
442 Staff - Monday 07 September 2009, 15:31
Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna insists the Gunners have learned from last season's mistakes and can go on to lift some silverware in 2009/10.
Arsene Wenger's side had won all four of their opening fixtures of the campaign - netting 15 goals in the process - prior to a narrow 2-1 defeat to Manchester United last time out.
The Emirates Stadium outfit made a similar start to the season 12 month's ago, winning five of their opening six encounters, netting 14 goals.
However, defeats to Hull, Stoke, Aston Villa and Manchester City combined with draws against Sunderland, Tottenham Hotspur, Middlesbrough and Liverpool left them out of the title race by Christmas, with only an impressive second half of the season ensuring they achieved Champions League qualification.
But Sagna, who has made 65 league appearances since arriving from Auxerre in 2007, is adament the club will not make the same mistakes again this year.
“Of course we can do it [win trophies],” he told Champions.
“At the beginning of last season we were sleeping. I don’t know why… maybe we were still on holiday.
“But when we started playing our own game, when we realised, we played better football.”
The French international, who was won 12 caps for his country, also revealed the roots behind his trademark hairstyle.
“I was 17 or 18 and playing in the fourth team against the seniors. They were 25 to 30 years of age, and we were teenagers, a young team like Arsenal," he said.
“But we were playing better than them because we played as a team; we used to do everything together. The bet was I had to score two goals to change my hairstyle.
“That’s my father – not one, two! Afterwards, I called him and told him I’d done it. He didn’t believe me, but I did it and I remember thinking, ‘Now, I can do what I want.’”