MONTREAL—Bacary Sagna knows a thing or two about high-pressure derby games.
The former Arsenal defender played more than a dozen matches against North London archrival Tottenham Hotspur during his time in the English Premier League.
Now the veteran defender is preparing for one of Major League Soccer’s most heated rivalries as the Montreal Impact (9-9-3) host Toronto FC (6-8-5) on Saturday, with both teams looking to jump-start the second half of their seasons.
“We know what this means for the fans, for the organization,” said Sagna, who played for Arsenal from 2007 to 2014. “Now that I’m here, I feel like a true Montrealer, so of course I want to win.