Sagna and Walcott face exits

Arsenal have reached an impasse in contract negotiations with Bacary Sagna as well as Theo Walcott, raising fears that two more first-team regulars will leave the club next year.

Sagna, who has twice been named in the Professional Footballers Association’s Premier League team of the year, has been offered only a one-year extension to his current deal at the Emirates Stadium, meaning that any renewed contract would take him until the end of the 2014-15 season when he would be aged 32.



Arsenal regard that offer as sensible but Sagna, who openly questioned the sales last summer of Robin van Persie and Alex Song, is understood to be disappointed and wants the security of a longer contract.



There is also still no further progress on Walcott, who has rejected a five-year deal worth £75,000 a week. Arsenal do retain hope of keeping both players but, following the departures over the past 18 months of Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Gaël Clichy, Van Persie and Song, it does increasingly look like there will be further major changes next year.



The uncertainty over Walcott and Sagna comes at a time when the team are clearly in transition and already struggling to adapt following the recent loss of key players.

Tomas Rosicky, the Czech international whose time at Arsenal dates back to Thierry Henry’s first spell at the club, believes that a lack of confidence and a loss in passing fluency are among the key explanations for the current difficulties.



“Maybe I can bring calmness,” Rosicky said. “Sometimes we don’t keep the ball as we used to. I still think we have some very good players and we are better than what we are producing. We are good enough. It is a matter of confidence.



“You can see there are more back-passes than we used to do. You have to gain confidence by winning the next game.”



Arsenal play West Bromwich Albion at the Emirates on Saturday and, after the boos that followed their 2-0 home defeat against Swansea City last week, Rosicky is calling for unity.



“I can understand the frustration as an Arsenal fan as well,” Rosicky said. “We have to know we have young guys and they feel frustration. We all have to stick together. That is what we did last season when ­everyone wrote us off and we came back stronger.

“If we are all on aboard, the ­Emirates is a great place to be and a great place to play football but we must stick together and fight.”