Bacary Sagna now reveals unusual thing Arsene Wenger would do before Arsenal training

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Bacary Sagna was one of many players to win a major trophy at Arsenal under legendary manager Arsene Wenger, and he has now praised his former coach.

Sagna played for Arsenal for seven years between 2007 and 2014, winning the FA Cup against Hull City in his final game before joining Manchester City.

The Frenchman is one of the best right-backs the club has had, and appeared under Wenger, Manuel Pellegrini and Pep Guardiola in his Premier League career.

Sagna has now explained one aspect of Wenger’s management style which made him such a special figure at Arsenal, both as a manager and on a human level.

Bacary Sagna praises Arsene Wenger’s character at Arsenal

Speaking in an interview with journalist Chris Wheatley, Sagna revealed that Wenger would take the unusual step of shaking everyone’s hand before training, and interacted with the playing squad more closely than any other manager.

“I’m going to talk about Arsene Wenger, the way he is with people, the way he respects people, the way he acted with us was just so human, and he respected us a lot,” Sagna explained.

“He used to enter the dressing room at the training ground every single day, and go and shake everyone’s hands. This is not usual in the country of England, people come and just say ‘Hey good morning,’ but he used to come and shake our hands.

“We used to be sitting with hot chocolate, talking about everything, laughing, and he used to stand and sit sometimes. At first we were like ‘the coach is here,’ and hiding a bit, but then he used to participate in the chat with us. He was like our Dad.”

Bacary Sagna was one of Arsene Wenger’s best Arsenal signings

Sagna and Wenger had plenty of mutual respect for each other, with Wenger once describing him as the best right-back in the Premier League.

The defender was one of Arsenal’s best under Wenger, and having joined for around £9m from French side Auxerre, he was one of several excellent bargain buys through smart scouting in France.

The full-back was strong in the tackle, and in later years would whip in excellent crosses, and he formed part of a strong back four with Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny in his final season.

He made 284 appearances for the club, scoring five times, and goes down as a cult hero from some of Wenger’s best teams in the latter part of his tenure at the club.