Sagna: Nasri, Clichy convinced me to join Manchester City from Arsenal

Published Aug. 6, 2014 4:38 p.m. ET

foxsports

Bacary Sagna has revealed that Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy convinced him to join Manchester City from Arsenal.

The France international completed his move to the Premier League champions in June, having rejected the Gunners' offers for him to stay at the Emirates Stadium. Nasri and Clichy both left the north Londoners to join City in 2011 and Sagna claims he was persuaded to link up with Manuel Pellegrini's side by his French teammates.

"I did (speak to Nasri and Clichy), many times," he told Manchester City's official website. "They said -- because they knew I was free and they knew I wanted to move -- they said to me, 'you should come, because we have a great team and we have a great mentality. The players are here to work really hard and to win trophies.' So I was thinking about it, so when the opportunity came I just chose the right one."

Sagna also explained his decision to leave Arsenal after seven years at the club, reasoning that he "needed a change" after making over 200 appearances for the Gunners.

"I spent seven years in Arsenal and had a great time there but I wanted to start from the bottom again, to work hard again and I think I just chose the best city in England and even in Europe," he added.

"To me, City is a great team, and I'll have to work really hard to get into the team and that's what I'm looking forward to."

Sagna will compete with Pablo Zabaleta for the right back berth in Pellegrini's starting XI in the coming season.

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