Arsenal’s signing of Bacary Sagna may signal a change of role for Emmanuel Eboue, with the possibility that he could shift foward into midfield. This was a suggestion quoted in a number of reports following the signing of Sagna from Auxerre earlier this week. Although comfortable anywhere across the back four, Sagna is recognised as a right-back which could free up Eboue to exploit his proven attacking prowess in a new advanced role.

Is this a welcome misclassification in the making? It’s certainly a situation that I’ll be monitoring during Arsenal’s friendlies. Right now, neither Sagna nor Eboue would be sensible buys given the doubt over Wenger’s thinking. However, if Eboue does get a look in as a right sided midfielder, he’ll certainly yield points. While he might not be as tidy as Hleb going forward, his pace, power and the tendency for the odd precision cross has been evident throughout his time at Arsenal. It’s also worth noting that Sagna earned 5 assists in 38 appearances for Auxerre last season, so he could offer his own threat coming forward.

Arsenal begin their campaign of friendlies at Barnet tomorrow.