Bacary Sagna believes that Arsenal 'have a chance' of securing a top four finish

Bacary Sagna believes that Arsenal are capable of finishing in the top four this season and has admitted that his previous prediction about the Gunners was 'a bit harsh'.

After Arsenal endured a miserable start to the season which saw them lose to Brentford, Chelsea and Manchester City, Sagna felt that Mikel Arteta's side were going to struggle.

However, Arsenal now find themselves in a much more positive situation. They are in sixth place and are four points adrift of fourth placed Manchester United with two games in hand.

Sagna, who played for the club between 2007 and 2014, believes that Arsenal have improved significantly since their struggles earlier in the campaign.

Sagna told bettingexpert: ‘I was maybe a bit harsh on Arsenal after the beginning of the season after they lost the first 3 games.

‘Maybe the commitment wasn’t perfect, maybe they had some issues with some of the players having Covid, maybe they just needed time because they were all at different stages of fitness, but since then a lot has changed.

‘I think they have shown some character, they’ve shown some great team spirit. They have the right mentality and they have the right commitment.

‘So yeah, they totally deserve to be where they are today, and honestly, if they keep going that way, playing without any fear in them, keeping the strong basics they have at the minute, I think they have a chance.'

Sagna was particularly impressed by Arsenal's performance on New Year's Day against another of his former clubs Manchester City.

City ended up winning 2-1 with Rodri scoring late on, but Arsenal, who finished the game with ten men following the dismissal of Gabriel, put in a spirited performance.

‘To finish in the top 2 is difficult because you have Manchester City and Liverpool, but I believe they have a strong squad. When they played Manchester City, I thought they deserved to win.

‘They played quite well and outplayed City until the red card at least. It shows the quality they have. It shows the quality and mentality now compared to the beginning of the season.’

Arsenal have 16 league games remaining, starting with a home fixture against Brentford on Saturday. Arteta's team will be eager for revenge following their defeat on the opening day.

There are still some difficult fixtures to come for Arsenal - they have to play Liverpool and Manchester United at home and take on Chelsea and Tottenham away.

Without the distraction of European football or other domestic competitions, however, there is an excellent change for Arsenal to get back into the Champions League for the first time since the 2016-17 season.