I can still remember Matt Debuchy’s first game for the Gunners in the 2014 Community Shield. Ironically, the man Debuchy replaced was playing for the opposing team and the Gunners went on to win the game with a commanding three-goal margin. He also had a solid league debut and earned his first red card for the club in a Champions League playoff against Besiktas. For the most part, he looked like a good replacement for Bacary Sagna as he marauded the right flank providing assistance offensively and defensively.
Then injury struck. In a very unfortunate incident at the Emirates in September, he damaged his ankle ligaments and was administered Oxygen on the pitch before he was stretched off. Following a successful surgery, Debuchy was ruled out for three months and that paved the way for young Hector Bellerin to make his breakthrough for the Gunners. Debuchy made his comeback and struggled to break into the first team setup but due to paucity of options in central defense, the Frenchman found himself playing as a center back and even scored a nice header in a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at Anfield. When he finally got a run-out on the right, he was shoved into the stands by Marko Arnautovic, dislocating his shoulder in the process.
That’s when Debuchy’s Arsenal career went downhill. In a season where a competitive team like Arsenal plays up to 50 – 60 games, the Frenchman managed just 15 games and with Bellerin rising to glory, it was going to be interesting to see how Wenger was to manage both players in the 2015/16 season. With Carl Jenkinson shipped out to West Ham, the right back berth was between the elder Frenchman and the young Spaniard but the manager favored Bellerin and Debuchy found games hard to come by.
As expected from a player that has been used to playing regular football in his Lille and Newcastle days, Debuchy resorted to moaning and spoke about the possibility of leaving in January. He harbored hopes of featuring in Euro 2016 and with the likes of Bacary Sagna and Christoph Jallet ahead of him in the French national team pecking order, he needed regular football to convince Didier Deschamps to give him a chance.
After notching up nine appearances for Girondins Bordeaux since his move from Arsenal in the winter transfer window, Debuchy has suffered a thigh injury in the 1-1 draw with PSG and will be unavailable for selection in the summer’s tournament. Bordeaux manager, Ulrich Rame, confirmed his absence at a press conference.
In addition to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Danny Welbeck, Debuchy would join the list of Gunners that would miss the soccer fiesta in France this summer. With Jenkinson returning to the club (still injured) and Calum Chambers still in the fray, Debuchy will have to make a decision on his future this summer, even though he still has two years left on his contract with Arsenal.
Sayonara.
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