Arsenal No Closer to Securing Bacary Sagna's Future, Wenger Admits

Arsenal defender Bacary Sagna is no closer to signing a new contract with the club, Arsene Wenger has confirmed.

The France international's current deal expires this summer and while both parties have expressed keen interest in extending his stay in north London, the Gunners have so far been unwilling to meet the player's demands.

Wenger's policy of only offering players over the age of 30 a one year contract conflicts with Sagna's demands and with less than five months left remaining on his current contract a fresh deal is no closer to being finalised with Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain monitoring the situation.

When asked if the former Auxerre defender was any closer to committing his future to the north London club, Wenger told reporters: "No, he is not close to signing [a new deal]. It is an ongoing process."

Arsenal host Liverpool this Sunday in the fifth round of the FA Cup with the club still stinging from the 5-1 thrashing they suffered at Anfield six days ago. In a boost to their efforts to inflict some revenge on Brendan Rodgers' side, Wenger will have tenacious midfielder Flamini back at his disposal after the Frenchman completed a three game ban, but will be without Santi Cazorla, who has been ruled out through illness.

When asked whether he will be tempted to rest one or two players given the club's intense fixture schedule over the next month, Wenger responded: ""Will I rest one, two or three players? I don't know yet. We have one focus: to win this game."

Saturday's cup clash provides some respite from the relentless battle at the summit of the Premier League, but Wenger believes a win against a title rival in any competition will provide an immeasurable boost in deciding where the Premier League trophy lands in May.

"The title race is very open, only Chelsea can lose it now because they are in front," said Wenger. "You want an opportunity to put things right and we have that opportunity on Sunday.

"The results in any competition can have an influence [on the title race]. The fact we play against a Premier League team will help a lot."

"If you declare yourself not in the title race, you cannot lose it. But I say yes, we are in it."