Bacary Sagna confirmed his Arsenal departure

Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna has confirmed to L'Equipe that he will be leaving the Gunners this summer.

Sagna, 31, is currently preparing with France for the upcoming World Cup but will not return to Emirates Stadium after the tournament in Brazil after rejecting Arsenal's offer of a new contract.

"It is no longer a secret, I am leaving Arsenal, it is a certainty," Sagna told L'Equipe. "Arsenal made an effort but the discussions did not go in the direction that I wanted.

"It was an honor to grow in the shirt. Arsenal is a club that brought me a lot, both as a person and as a sportsman. Even though we had been criticised for quite some time due to the lack of trophies, I had some magical moments. If I had to do, I'd do it again."

"There are a lot of calls, a lot of speculation. Frankly, it gives headaches. I'll sort it all out that before the start of the World Cup."

The full-back, whose current deal is about to expire, has been heavily tipped to join Premier League champions Manchester City on a free transfer.

Should Sagna complete a move to City, he would become the fourth Arsenal player to head to the Etihad Stadium in recent years, following in the footsteps of Kolo Toure, Emmanuel Adebayor and Samir Nasri.

The France international joined Arsenal from Auxerre in 2007 and has established himself as one of Europe's most consistent right-backs, winning a place in the Premier League Team of the Year in both 2008 and 2011.