Bacary Sagna has singled out one moment which caused Arsenal to become “insecure” as they went on to let a five-point lead in the Premier League slip away in 2008.
The former Gunners right-back moved from Auxerre to North London in 2007 and looked like he might mark his debut Premier League season by lifting the title.
A youthful side under Arsene Wenger had a five point lead heading into the final 12 games of the season and had lost only one match so far, but Sagna recalls Eduardo’s horrendous leg break against Birmingham City as being the catalyst for a downturn in form.
“It was a massive blow to our team We were so confident, we had some form and we were not scared of anyone,” the Frenchman told Goal.
"Everything was going our way. Even when we began the season, we managed to win no matter what. Every time we were losing 1-0, we used to come back and win. The fans played a big part in it as well. They were pushing and the atmosphere was great.
“We were doing very good and Eduardo was flying, he was scoring many goals. He was our main scorer and the fact that he got injured I think it put some insecurity in our team, it maybe made us think about what might happen next.
“It was quite the shock to be on the pitch that day. I don’t want to use it as an excuse because after this we didn’t manage to win for so many games, which was not normal.
“That day at Birmingham was bad. It put insecurity into the team and we were not able to come back.”
After the 2-2 draw at St Andrews, Arsenal won only one of their next seven games and went on to finish third in the league, with Manchester United lifting the title.
