Now that Arsene Wenger has nearly a full squad of players available as Arsenal’s injury list has improved drastically, Le Prof seems to have two great players available for nearly every position on the pitch which must give him a headache on match-days.
One position is even more competitive than the others as the two young right-backs Hector Bellerin and Calum Chambers have been given extra chances to impress while Matthieu Debuchy missed most of the campaign through injury. Now the French international is back and has to try and wrest his starting place back from the upstarts, but Debuchy believes that the competition for places is only good for Arsenal.
“I think this is the most intense competition I have had, yes,” Debuchy told the Official Arsenal site. “We have a lot of good players who can play at right back, I think of Hector and Calum. They have both done well this season.
“They are young and talented, with a huge potential to become very good players. They’ve proved so far this season that they have the qualities to be at Arsenal.
“We have a very good relationship between us, good affinities as with the rest of the team. We do some very good work in training, and it is always better to train in this environment. We’ve never had any problems between us.
“Arsenal is a big club and it is normal to be in competition with other players. This is how football works. I believe it makes everyone more competitive, and it is good for the club.”
It certainly is, and Debuchy could face even more competition for his place as Wenger has agreed that the improved Carl Jenkinson could also be coming back to the fold next season. Perhaps Wenger could move the ageing Debuchy into a more central role next season and leave the speedy youngsters to fight it out for a place on the flanks?