Sagna: Liverpool don’t look the same without Mane

Former Arsenal star Bacary Sagna says Liverpool don’t look the threat they were after allowing Sadio Mane to leave the club in the summer.

The Senegalese forward made the switch to Germany giants Bayern Munich in the summer much to the disappointment of the Anfield faithful and it’s fair to say that his presence has been missed so far this season. Despite Mane pushing for the move to the Bundesliga, he has failed to make a huge impact and there are already suggestions that he might be moved on again quite soon with observers saying he looks isolated.

Sagna, who made more than 200 appearances for Arsenal and who was capped 65 times by France, was commenting on Arsenal’s and Liverpool’s chances competing against another of his former clubs, Manchester City, for the title this season. At the time of writing, the current odds for Premier League betting are City at 30/100, Liverpool at 9/1 and Arsenal at 11/1.

He said: “I feel Arsenal can be the main competition to Man City for the Premier League title, who of course remain the very strong favourites.

“I don’t see any other team that can challenge them. Of course you can’t totally rule out Liverpool, but they have lost Sadio Mane and don’t look the same without him.

“Mane and Mohamed Salah complemented each other so well and were so consistent, I’m not sure Liverpool will be feared in quite the same way this season. I think teams are just paying the way they want to play rather than just working defensively to stop Mane and Salah.

“Having already dropped points it’ll be difficult for Liverpool to catch up.

“With Arsenal having made a perfect start it feels like they could be the main contenders to compete with this incredible Manchester City side for the Premier League title.”