Arsenal Transfer News: Defender Confirms Exit, While Atletico Reject Bid for Replacement

French defender Bacary Sagna has finally confirmed that he will be leaving Arsenal this summer, while Arsene Wenger's £9 million bid for the Frenchman's replacement Juanfran was reportedly rejected by Atletico Madrid.

Although the Gunners were desperately trying to persuade the Sagna to continue on at the Emirates,  negotiations broke down after the 31-year-old's wage demands were not met.

While Sagna wanted to see his £60,000 a week salary rise to £100,000, the North London club were only willing to offer him a three year contract, worth £80,000 a week.

Due to this reason, Sagna, who is currently busy preparing with France for the 2014 World Cup, is eager to make a move out of the Emirates in search of better prospects.

"It is no longer a secret, I am leaving Arsenal, it is a certainty. Arsenal made an effort but the discussions did not go in the direction that I wanted. It was an honour to grow in the shirt. Arsenal is a club that brought me a lot, both as a person and as a sportsman," Sagna told L'Equipe.

"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."

The former Auxerre defender, who joined Arsenal for a transfer fee of €9m in the summer of 2007, also hinted he will moving to a new club before the start of the World Cup.

"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."

Sagna has been heavily linked with a move to English Premier League champions Manchester City, who are looking to get players on free transfers after they were imposed with a restricted £49m summer transfer budget as punishment for breaching UEFA's Financial Fair Play rule.

Meanwhile, Arsenal's £9m bid for right-back Juanfran has been reportedly rejected by Atletico Madrid, according to the Mirror.

Wenger, who has been pursuing Juanfran since last summer, was keen to sign the 29-year-old as a replacement for their departing right-back Sagna.

However, Juanfran, who was quite impressive during Atletico Madrid's Champions League campaign last season, is reportedly looking to continue playing for the La Liga Champions.

As a result Arsenal's bid was rejected by the Los Rojiblancos, who are desperately trying to retain most of their key players this summer.