Arsenal Debate – The verdict on Matthieu Debuchy so far?

Has Mathieu Debuchy lived up to expectations in Arsenal colours? by SE

The Frenchman’s 12-million pound move from Newcastle United this summer was an eagerly anticipated one, midst some skepticism whether he would be an able replacement for the long serving Bacary Sagna. After monitoring his performances for Arsenal, it’s only fair enough to analyze whether the former Newcastle man has lived up to expectations in Arsenal colours.

Talking Points
Debuchy’s attacking prowess is definitely captivating; he can shuttle up and down the flanks all day and, more importantly, put productive crosses into the box, for the lanky strikers in Giroud and Sanogo to make the most of. At Newcastle last season, Debuchy put 96 crosses into the business area, with an average of 3.31 crosses per game.
If anything, it was his defending that fuelled some cynicism, while the transfer negotiations were taking place, with many going onto proclaim that the 29-year old would just concentrate on going forward, thereby leaving his central defenders do all the defensive work. Fortunately that hasn’t happened so far, at least, and Debuchy has balanced his offensive and defensive duties judiciously.

What do the stats say?
The Frenchman, who thrives in putting crosses into the business area, has mustered 12 crosses over three Premier League games, but none of his crosses have escalated into being an assist. Of his 140 attempted passes, in the Premier League alone, 108 of them have been successful, with a pass accuracy rate of 78%.

The one worrying aspect of Debuchy as an Arsenal player is his failure to create outright chances. In the three Premier League games so far, the Frenchman hasn’t created a single goal scoring chance, while the often disparaged Nacho Monreal has created 2 in three games.

Coming to the defensive side of things, which, logically, is Debuchy’s primary duty at Right-Full-Back, he is yet to make a single error in that department and neither has he been subject to an opposition’s goal. The 29-old’s aerial prowess is impressive: in the 23 headed duels he has been involved in, he has gone to win 18 of them, which, incidentally, can only be a positive for Arsenal. All it means is that Debuchy can either wrestle back possession in favor of Arsenal or, maintain possession for his team.

Final Thought
Going by the stats, Debuchy has been par for the course during his early days as an Arsenal player but, by his own standards, would want to improve a lot more on the offensive side of things. With Ozil playing ahead of him on the right flank and cutting inside of his opposing full back, the onus is on Debuchy to make the pitch as big as possible by constantly overlapping his German team mate. Also, with a lot of tall forwards in this Arsenal side, Debuchy has to be a lot more productive with his crossing. It would not be long, however, before we get to see ‘Dazzling Debuchy’ at work for Arsenal.