Bacary Sagna says Arsenal are happy being underdogs in the title race and warns Chelsea and Manchester City they are ready to end their nine-year wait for silverware.

Arsenal sit top of the Premier League but there has been little talk of Arsene Wenger’s side being crowned champions. They are third favourites with the bookmakers and doubts linger about whether they can sustain a title challenge.

Sagna refuses to subscribe to the notion that Arsenal will fall away during the second half of the season but the defender is happy with expectations being on their rivals, which he believes will work in his side’s favour as they look to confound the doubters in the three-way battle to finish top.

“It is better for us because we can keep going forward without being under pressure,” said Sagna.

“Everyone is talking about Chelsea and City more than us but we believe in ourselves. The other teams know we have not won a trophy for a long time and maybe they think we will drop points. They do not see us lifting trophies but that is good for us because we can keep working hard.”

Arsenal lead the way in the Premier League, with just two points separating the top three. Jose Mourinho sees City as Chelsea’s main rivals for the title but Sagna is confident Arsenal can last the distance as they try to win the Premier League for the first time since 2004. “We have great quality and we can beat anyone this season,” said the France international.

“Teams are scared about us because they know we can make their life difficult on the pitch. We want everyone to be talking about us at the end of the season, saying we were the best team and deserved to win the title. Right now, we just want to stay focused. Every team will drop points but we are in a very good position.”

Sagna admits the players have let Wenger down in recent years and says they are determined to repay the faith shown by their manager. He believes this Arsenal side is different to the one that has disappointed in previous seasons. “He [Wenger] has faith in us and that transmits to us,” said Sagna.

“Every time I lose a game I feel bad because he trusts us. When you do not give something back when someone trusts you, it is quite embarrassing. If we win, it is for the players and the supporters but for the manager as well because we have let him down for a few years and he deserves to recognised as one of the best.

“I can feel a difference this season. We are more focused and no one scares us. We were not missing a lot to win a trophy but we did miss something. We lost the first game of the season against Aston Villa but there were never any doubts in the team.”

Arsenal want to strengthen their title bid by signing Schalke’s Julian Draxler but Wenger last week admitted he is unlikely to bring in any new players this month. Sagna believes the squad is strong enough to win the title without any new additions.

“For sure,” said Sagna, 30, who is out of contract in the summer and is in talks about a new deal.

“We can bring young players into the squad like Serge Gnabry, who is doing great. Against Coventry, Lukas Podolski had not played for a long time but he scored two goals. Olivier Giroud came on and scored. At the back, we have a good defence, so I would not be worried [if we did not sign a player].”

Arsenal face a run of games next month which could define their season. The Gunners play Liverpool and Manchester United in the Premier League, while they will host Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Arsenal also play Liverpool at home in the FA Cup fifth round but Sagna insists there is no trepidation ahead of their crucial run of six fixtures in under three weeks.

“I am not sure Bayern Munich will be happy playing us because we beat them away last season and we want to show that we can go through,” he said. “February will be a big month for us but also for the other teams in the title race.”

Before then, Arsenal play at Southampton tomorrow, looking to extend their lead at the top with Chelsea and City playing on Wednesday.

“Southampton are a bit like the Arsenal team of a few years ago,” said Sagna. “They are one of the best sides I played against last season. We just want to stay at the top and the best way of doing that is acting on the pitch. We are ready to fight until the end.”



Bacary Sagna was at the launch of Call of Duty: Ghosts Onslaught, the first DLC Pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts which launches first on Xbox Live tomorrow. Find out more about the four new multiplayer maps and new episodic Extinction story line at www.callofduty.com