When Arsenal signed Matthieu Debuchy from Newcastle, the Frenchman was hailed as the perfect replacement for Bacary Sagna. He had already displaced his countryman in the national side and was experienced in the Premiership enough to easily slot into the Gunners back line.
He certainly started well, but then he succumbed to Arsenal’s injury curse and played just 15 times in his debut season. By the time he had finally regained full fitness, Hector Bellerin had cemented his place as our Number Two and the far more experienced Debuchy had to make do with a place on the bench, which doesn’t seem to please him much as a seasoned 30 year-old, and it now appears that his place in the France side is also in jeopardy.
The France coach Didier Deschamps made it clear what he thought his defender ought to do. He said: ”Mathieu Debuchy is in a position where he is playing very little, when he does play, look at yesterday’s result.
“He has a decision to make in December or January. He hasn’t lost his quality, he’s playing very little.”
He is playing very rarely, but the fact is that when he has had a chance this season, he has shown very little to suggest he could displace Hector Bellerin now or in the future, so maybe Wenger should consider letting him leave. The problem is that Arsenal cannot recall Carl Jenkinson from West Ham, and who could we use in Debuchy’s place if Hector got injured?