Bacary Sagna has no regrets about leaving Arsenal for Manchester City but would like to have more game time at the Etihad Stadium.
Sagna joined the champions at the start of this season having ended a seven-year association with the Gunners in fitting style by winning last season’s FA Cup – their first trophy in nine years.
However, since moving to Manchester, first-team opportunities have been at a premium as he jostles for the right-back starting berth with Pablo Zabaleta.
City are two points behind second-placed Arsenal with six games to play. Depsite this, in an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Sagna insists he made the right choice in leaving Arsenal for City.
“I don’t have any regrets [leaving Arsenal], I needed something new,” he said.
“Many people said I left for money but not at all. There’s a real project at Man City and I want to be a part of it. I’m giving the maximum to get to play and to improve.
“Of course I want to play more games. I like competition and I like to play football and I like to get involved.
“It’s a part of life where you need to keep your head up, keep working hard and then maybe my time will come.”
The defending Premier League champions have seen their title defence slip away in recent weeks and City now face a battle to qualify for Champions League.
Despite this, Sagna insists the morale at the Etihad is high, with all the players and backroom staff firmly behind manager Manuel Pellegrini and focused on finishing as high as possible.
“We are going to try and finish the season as high as we can,” Sagna added.
“Of course we wanted to be successful and finish first but that will be very difficult because Chelsea are far. But we want to finish third, we are going to take it game by game and win as much as we can.
“There is a massive togetherness at City. No matter what happens, we – the staff and the players – all want to be successful together and we are looking forward to being a better team and a better club.
“The manager doesn’t need to motivate us much. We are the players, the ones who are involved on the pitch.
“He always there to push us, to keep us positive and to remind us that we are good players, that we deserve to play for City and that we need to bring it and show it on the pitch.”
Watch the exclusive extended interview with Bacary Sagna on Sky Sports News HQ on Saturday morning. Then watch Manchester City v Aston Villa on Saturday Night Football, 4:45pm, Sky Sports 1 HD