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Sagna expects RVP to stay

Image: Bacary Sagna: Keen for Arsenal to keep hold of skipper Robin van Persie this summer

Bacary Sagna is confident Robin van Persie will stay with Arsenal this summer and would also like the club to sign Yann M'Vila from Rennes.

Full-back also believes M'Vila could make impact for Gunners

Bacary Sagna is confident Robin van Persie will stay with Arsenal this summer and would also like the club to sign Rennes midfielder Yann M'Vila. Van Persie has just one year remaining on his current deal and has been linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium during the transfer window. Having scored 30 Premier League goals to fire the Gunners to third place in the Premier League, Sagna believes the Dutchman will decide to commit his future to Arsenal. He told the Daily Mirror: "I'm confident Robin will stay. He was a complete professional from the beginning until the end (of the season) and helped us into third. "We want to keep him. Everyone is so grateful to him for what he's done for the club and how important he is. "He is our captain and takes his role and responsibilities very seriously. He gives everything as a player and captain."

Contenders

Manager Arsene Wenger is seeking to strengthen his squad early in this summer's transfer window as the club look to persuade Van Persie they can match his ambitions. Germany forward Lukas Podolski has already been signed from Cologne and M'Vila is also understood to be a target. The Rennes star has admitted he does not know where he will be playing next season, but Sagna is convinced he could do a job for Arsenal. "We want more players to come to the team," he said. "Lukas Podolski has arrived already and he is a German international and a quality player. "M'Vila can make a great impact. I'm not sure about his English but it took me time to learn. But I think he would suit us as well. Arsenal is a French-speaking team and it will help him settle. "I think we can be contenders this coming season. We showed a lot of people what we could do last season."
England chances
M'Vila is part of France's 25-man provisional squad for this summer's European Championship, but Sagna will miss the tournament after breaking his leg against Norwich late in the Premier League season. That will deprive him of a meeting with England, but he says he will offer advice on how to deal with his Emirates Stadium colleagues Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should they be selected to cover for the suspended Wayne Rooney in Donetsk on June 11th. He told the Daily Express: "Wayne Rooney is England's main striker, so of course it is good for France that he is not playing. (But Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain) are ready to shine for England. "Both of them are very quick and can change games on their own. I know they will have a good tournament, so I will make sure everybody in France is aware of them." On England's chances, he added: "The fact they have not got much time for the new manager to get his ideas across could make the team stick together even more. "They have very good players in every position. It will be a very good game to watch. You know that playing the England team is never easy and it will be a very difficult game for France."

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