Arsenal Football Club News

• Nickname:Gunners
• Founded:1886
• Manager:Arsene Wenger

• Ground:Emirates
• Capacity:60,432

Sagna rules out title challenge

10 Jul 2008 - 08:20:09

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Defender Bacary Sagna believes Arsenal can not yet be considered serious challengers for the Premier League title.

The France full-back was a mainstay in the Gunners side that topped the table heading into February last season only to fall away as the campaign progressed to their eventual third place finish.

The close season has been overshadowed with talk of key players Alex Hleb and Emmanuel Adebayor leaving the Emirates Stadium, while Mathieu Flamini has moved on to AC Milan on a free transfer.

Those off-field distractions have led to claims from Sagna that the domestic title may once again be out of Arsenal's reach this year.

"There is no point in planning ahead for next March because we cannot be certain that we will still be in the hunt for the title by then," he told The Sun.

"Obviously, we all have regrets about last season and are hoping to improve on third place.

"But we need to learn from those lessons and that is why I don't think it is a good idea to set ourselves a definite target for the new season."

Meanwhile, Gilberto Silva is reportedly set to leave the Gunners in a £2million deal to join Greek giants Panathinaikos.

The experienced Brazil midfielder was unsettled at the north London club after losing his starting place last season.