Football
Ian Holyman, France correspondent 7y

Monaco's Djibril Sidibe wants playing time guarantee in any move

Arsenal target Djibril Sidibe will only consider leaving Monaco if a new club can "guarantee" him playing time.

Sidibe, who wants to "become one of the best in the world" at right-back, said in October that he had been "really close" to joining Arsenal last summer.

But he opted to leave Lille for Monaco on a five-year deal because Arsenal "saw me playing rather on the left while I want to establish myself on the right."

The France international said: "As a player, it's always exciting to play against the best, in the best league.

"Today, I'm fortunate to play at Monaco in a good team. We're playing the Champions League, we score a lot of goals, we're still in every competition.

"The risk is to go to a big club, be substitute, take a step back, go out on loan... it's always difficult.

"My criteria is playing time. Having said that, if a club that I can't turn down wants me and can guarantee me quite a bit of playing time, I'll have to think about it.

"But for the moment I'm very good at Monaco. I'd like to settle into my position at right-back and become one of the best in the world."

Sidibe has featured in 24 of his club's 30 Ligue 1 games so far, helping them to the top of Ligue 1 and being ever-present in the Champions League, which he said they believed they had a chance of winning.

Monaco face Borussia Dortmund in the quarterfinals and he said: "We're taking it step by step. But it's certain we talk about it [the possibility of winning]. There is a percentage, even if it's small, but why not?

"It's certain that the extra-terrestrials like Barca, Real or Bayern are a cut above.

"But it's going to be a great game [against Dortmund]. It's up to us to control our emotions to get a result there."

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