Arsenal feared playing Chelsea and ‘in our heads, they were bigger players than us’, reveals Bacary Sagna
BACARY SAGNA admits Arsenal feared playing Chelsea because "in our heads they were bigger than us".
The French right-back, now 37, spent seven years in North London between 2007 and 2014.
But despite having plenty of top-quality players throughout the team, they often came unstuck against their rivals from across town.
Sagna played a total of 12 matches for Arsenal against Chelsea, winning three, drawing two and losing seven - the last of which was the 6-0 hammering at Stamford Bridge in his final season.
And he believes it was because the Gunners were too scared and were already beaten before stepping on to the pitch.
Sagna told the club's In Lockdown podcast: "I believe we under-evaluated ourselves. Playing for Chelsea image-wise was something different
"They used their image a lot, they used to have some big players in the national team and we used to talk about them more than they talked about us.
"Maybe in our heads, they were bigger players than us.
ARSENAL NEWS LIVE: Follow for the latest Gunners news
"On the pitch, we had as much quality as they had whenever we played, and when we played the Arsenal way nobody could beat us.
"I believed nobody could beat us. We used to play simple passes, one, two-touches maximum. But I believe we under-evaluated ourselves which is a big mistake in life."
Sagna's only trophy for the Gunners was the 2014 FA Cup, beating Hull in the last of his 284 appearances for the club.
The Frenchman quit the club and joined Manchester City for three years, winning the League Cup in 2016.
Ironically, in his four matches against Chelsea with the Etihad side, he drew the first two 1-1 and then did a 3-0 double over the Blues in 2015/16.
Speaking of Arsenal's lack of silverware, Sagna added: "We just played game by game and we were winning a lot but obviously and eventually when we had to perform in certain games, we were failing.
Latest Arsenal news
"Maybe it was because we put too much pressure on ourselves.
"Most of the games we had to play, we played well and we won.
"But for example when we had to play against the top four, we found it difficult to play against them at that time."