Thursday, March 28, 2024

Report Card: Mathieu Debuchy

Debuchy-ReportCard

  • Age: 29
  • Appearances: 11
  • Goals: 1
  • Assists: 0
  • Fresh Arsenal Season Rating: 6.5

Moment of the Season: Debuchy’s only goal in an Arsenal shirt came as the first equaliser in a 2-2 draw against Liverpool. A vital game-changing moment for the Gunners to revive their performance against top sides.

Current Value: £11million

Potential Value: £15million

It has been an interesting year for the Frenchman, after multiple injuries plagued his first season in an Arsenal shirt. Debuchy was initially brought in to fill the position left by Bacary Sagna, and at £12million the former Newcastle man didn’t take too long to make his competitive debut.

Debuchy featured in the 3-0 victory over Manchester City in the Community Shield, and from then managed to retain a solid number of performances at the right-back position. However, in mid-September the full-back suffered an injury to his ankle ligaments which left him out of action for nearly three months.

That injury allowed Arsene Wenger to test both Callum Chambers and Hector Bellerin in defence, and after a series of steady performances it was the latter who got the nod. Since then, Bellerin covered the right-back position until Debuchy returned to action in the Champions League just before Christmas. Naturally it seemed that he would take Bellerin’s place, but Wenger chose to rotate the two which allowed a fresh change during the winter spell.

Unfortunately however, Debuchy suffered a dislocated shoulder whilst playing at the Emirates, which left him out of action for over two months, meaning Bellerin came back in to finish off the season. Wenger only decided to throw Debuchy into the mix during the FA Cup semi-final, where Arsenal defeated Reading 2-1.

The main aim for Debuchy next season is to work on his fitness and establish himself as the main man in the right-back position. He’ll have strong competition from Bellerin and the possible return of Carl Jenkinson will only throw more of a challenge to these players, which can only be a good thing.

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