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Revealing the Benefits of Signing Mathieu Debuchy
So one of the most kept transfer secrets have finally been made official – Newcastle’s Matt Debuchy is now a Gunner, and he has taken the No. 2 jersey, a traditional right back’s number. The full back joins the club after a good World Cup under his belt and instead of arriving as a late transfer deadline day signing, Debuchy would have the time to blend in with his new teammates, as well as getting accustomed to the Arsenal way.
Debuchy’s career began when he joined LOSC Lille Metropole at the tender age of eight, before breaking into the first team setup several years later. He made his debut in the 2003/04 campaign and went on to make 300 appearances (scored 18 goals) in 10 seasons for the French-based outfit before leaving in January 2013 to join another French-infested squad in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. After 18 months with Newcastle, he has joined the Gunners for an undisclosed fee.
With the era of Bacary Sagna gone, a new era has began with Debuchy leading the ranks at the right back position with Carl Jenkinson and / or Hector Bellerin serving as his able deputies. The Gunners linked with moves for Seamus Coleman and Serge Aurier but Arsene Wenger in his infinite wisdom opted for some French delight.
What makes Matt Debuchy stand out? Gooner Daily reveals the benefits of signing the French star.
Statistical Review of Debuchy, Compared with Sagna and other Arsenal Transfer Targets
According to stats king, WhoScored, the table below shows the overall stats of these right backs,
| STAT (League Only)* | Debuchy | Coleman | Aurier | Sagna |
| Appearances (Subs) | 28 (1) | 36 (0) | 34 (0) | 34 (1) |
| Goals | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Assists | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Bookings (Yellow / Red) | (8/1) | (3/0) | (11/0) | (6/0) |
| Aerial Duels Won /Attempted | 4 per game (115/165) | 0.4 per game (15/27) | 2.7 per game (91/150) | 3.5 per game (122/180) |
| Man of the Match Awards won | 6 | 1 | 6 | 1 |
| Who Scored Rating | 7.42 | 7.32 | 7.43 | 7.20 |
From the table above, all four players were first team regulars in their respective clubs last season, but Seamus Coleman and Serge Aurier scored a boatload of goals (six each) unlike Debuchy and his French compatriot, Sagna, that managed only one goal all season long. Aurier picked up the most bookings from the lot and it can be attributed to his inexperience, rash style of play and probably late tackles due to his suspect positioning, as we witnessed in the concluded World Cup.
One significant area Debuchy excels from this table is his aerial ability and for a player with a height of 177 cm, Debuchy knows how to leap off the ground to challenge for the ball. This Route One tactic was employed by Arsenal last season, with Wojciech Szczesny always distributing the ball to Sagna’s direction to build up attacks. This means that with Debuchy taking Sagna’s place in the right hand side of defense, the trend will continue with Szczesny punting the balls to his direction – a feat either Aurier or Coleman would have been able to achieve had they joined the Gunners.
Debuchy doing his thing against some bloke from Honduras
Defensive Stats
Looking at the defensive side of their games, which is obviously their primary jobs, listed below are their stats from WhoScored,
| STAT (League Only)* | Debuchy | Coleman | Aurier | Sagna |
| Tackles (per game) | 95 (3.3) | 71 (2) | 94 (2.8) | 58 (1.7) |
| Interceptions (per game) | 69 (2.4) | 47 (1.3) | 75 (2.2) | 51 (1.5) |
| Fouls Committed (per game) | 41 (1.4) | 25 (0.7) | 38 (1.1) | 23 (0.7) |
| Offsides Won (per game) | 3 (0.1) | 14 (0.4) | 2 (0.1) | 15 (0.4) |
| Clearances (per game) | 138 (4.8) | 88 (2.4) | 102 (3) | 175 (5) |
| Dribbled by Others (per game) | 24 (0.8) | 18 (0.5) | 21 (0.6) | 14 (0.4) |
| Blocked Shots (per game) | 12 (0.4) | 9 (0.3) | 9 (0.3) | 7 (0.2) |
| Own Goals committed | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Judging from the stats, Debuchy made more tackles than his peers (really close tie with Aurier) but the Ivorian edged past Debuchy in terms of interceptions. The Frenchman also committed a lot of fouls which would be attributed to his eight yellow cards and one red card last season. Sagna made more clearances with five per game but Debuchy wasn’t far off wit 4.8 per game to his name. He also had a lot of blocked shots, which shows his enthusiasm in the back.
Having a player like Debuchy is really great because he has proved that he can do a very sound job at the back. There’s a reason he was selected ahead of Sagna in the starting lineup of the French national team. In the World Cup, Debuchy put up consistent performances in France’s first two games before he was rested for Sagna in a dead rubber fixture against Ecuador. In the knockout stages, he resumed his normal duties before his nation was eliminated by the eventual winners, Germany.
Enemies last month, buddies this month
Attacking Stats
From an attacking perspective, Serge Aurier excels admirably because of the license he has to bomb forward. Seamus Coleman was a winger that was converted to a full back, so it was expected for him to contribute immensely to Everton’s attack. It was no surprise that both players scored six goals each.
| STAT (League Only)* | Debuchy | Coleman | Aurier | Sagna |
| Goals | 1 | 6 | 6 | 1 |
| Assists | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 |
| Shots (per game) | 35 (1.2) | 30 (0.8) | 58 (1.7) | 16 (0.5) |
| Key Passes (per game) | 23 (0.8) | 45 (1.3) | 32 (0.9) | 21 (0.6) |
| Successful Dribbles (per game) | 16 (0.6) | 64 (1.8) | 47 (1.4) | 8 (0.2) |
| Fouled by Others (per game) | 23 (0.8) | 31 (0.9) | 56 (1.6) | 27 (0.8) |
| Times Caught Offside (per game) | 5 (0.2) | 2 (0.1) | 7 (0.2) | 0 (0) |
| Times Dispossessed (per game) | 15 (0.5) | 37 (1) | 76 (2.2) | 24 (0.7) |
| Turnovers (per game) | 28 (1) | 23 (0.7) | 45 (1.3) | 13 (0.4) |
The downside to Aurier and Coleman’s attacking play was that they were vulnerable to counter attacks and teams capitalized on that flaw to punish them. Debuchy on the other hand, takes a more conservative approach to his offensive play and his off the ball movement is superb. In the World Cup, he worked in tandem with Matt Valbuena and they wreaked havoc on the right hand side.
Imagine him doing the same with Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Serge Gnabry. Lord!!!
Premier League Experience
Debuchy spent 18 months in the Premier League and amassed 46 games for Newcastle. In his short stint with the club, he was a consistent performer and an ever present figure in Alan Pardew’s starting XI.
Debuchy scored his only Newcastle goal against Sunderland
With his move to Arsenal, Debuchy wouldn’t need any adaptation period of any sort because he’s already a seasoned professional in the Premier League. At 28, he’s at his prime, so he can give his best years to the club while a youngster like Carl Jenkinson would be learning the ropes.
The good times are back again.
Welcome Matt Debuchy, or Dorobuchy, as some Nigerians have likened his name to.
Sayonara.
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Rating Arsenal’s Defenders Performances in the 2013/14 Season
In the 2013/14 season, Arsenal’s defense was much-improved and this was due to the fact that Arsene Wenger got his first-choice pairing right and he stuck with them till injuries or suspension took its toll on the defensive rearguard. The center back pairing of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny were ever-present for the club, while club captain, Thomas Vermaelen, struggled with injuries, loss of form and lack of game time.
In the full back positions, Kieran Gibbs and Bacary Sagna were automatic starters whenever they were fit while their deputies, Nacho Monreal and Carl Jenkinson, were restricted to a handful of appearances.
This is the second installment of a four-post series focused on Arsenal’s performances in the 2012/13 season. I’ve already shared my views on the performances of the goalkeepers but today’s post is focused on Arsenal’s defensive rearguard.
Feel free to share your comments.
Bacary Sagna – 48 Apps, One Goal, Three Assists
In recent times, Bacary Sagna has been marred by long-term injuries that has taken its toll on his career. Suffering two fractures on the same leg must have been a horrific experience but as we all know, football isn’t really a forgiving sport.
With Carl Jenkinson deputizing admirably in Sagna’s absence, many wondered if the Bac Man would replicate the form that won him a place in the 2008 PFA Team of the Year. At the start of the campaign, injuries to Vermaelen and Koscielny made Sagna start as a center back. Wenger gad featured him in that position at preseason so it was no surprise.
Sagna featured heavily for the Gunners and performed admirably in his defensive duties but in attack, he really failed to impress. The back passes were endless and there were times he looked clueless on what to do with the ball.
BacMan battling with Shrek
Then there was the niggling issue of his contract that was a thorn in Arsenal’s flesh throughout the season and finally, he jumped ship to Manchester City on a bumper deal that was too good for him to refuse. Nonetheless, it was a fair campaign by his standards and the fans are looking to the future.
Rating – 6/10
Kieran Gibbs – 41 Apps, One Goal, Two Assists
For the first time in Gibbs’ fledgling Arsenal career, he managed to amass his highest amount of games for the club. He even scored a lovely goal in the Champions League qualifier against Fenerbahce when he latched on to Theo Walcott’s cross to score Arsenal’s first goal of the qualifying campaign.
Unlike Sagna, Gibbs was very inventive when he was in the final third and his recovery levels were top-notch this season. However, it would be very hard to forget Andre Marriner’s moment of madness in Stamford Bridge when he brandished Gibbs a red card for a sin Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain committed.
It’s unfortunate to know that Gibbs’ good form for Arsenal wasn’t enough for him to be called up by Roy Hodgson and in fairness to the England manager, Leighton Baines and Luke Shaw deserved to be on the plane to Brazil.
Rating – 7/10
Carl Jenkinson – 22 Apps, One Goal, Two Assists
With Koscielny and Vermaelen injured, Sagna was drafted to the center back position, allowing Jenkinson to get a run-out in the first team. Even when Koscielny returned to the first team, Jenkinson retained his place but as the weeks progressed the young Englishman resumed his bench warming duties.
His most memorable moment in September was that brilliant assist he created for Aaron Ramsey against Sunderland and he will also be remembered for clearing the ball off the line when Jozy Altidore out-muscled Sagna and played the ball past Wojciech Szczesny. Jenkinson reached his low point this season when he inadvertently supplied a pass to Cesar Azpilicueta in the Capital One Cup
His second assist of the season was a lovely pin-point cross to the World’s Best Released Striker, Nicklas Bendtner, that headed the ball home against Hull and on the final matchday of the season, Jenkinson scored his first goal for the club. A personal high for the young Arsenal fan.
Rating – 6/10
Nacho Monreal – 36 Apps, No Goal, One Assist
In Monreal’s first full season at the club, he proved that he was nowhere near Gibbs with his performances. He managed to create a good assist for Santi Cazorla when the Gunners visited Villa Park but Monreal played like a liability in some games, with his poorest performance coming up against Manchester City at the Etihad.
However, Monreal would be remembered for scoring the winning penalty in the Capital One Cup third round clash against West Brom.
Rating – 5/10
Thomas Vermaelen – 21 Apps, No Goal, One Assist
How the mighty have fallen.
I can vividly remember when Vermaelen joined the club in 2009 and he slammed in six goals in his debut campaign, rising to an indispensable status. With Robin van Persie leaving the club, Vermaelen was handed the captain’s armband and it ensured that he was a regular starter for the club and after a series of below-par performances, Arsene Wenger paired Laurent Koscielny with Per Mertesacker and they never looked back ever since.
bench warmer of life
Last season, the good form of both players relegated the captain to the bench for extended periods and he also had some injury demons to contend with. It was a welcome sight seeing the captain lift the FA Cup but one must wonder if he’s ready to spend another campaign on the bench next season.
Rating – 5/10
Laurent Koscielny – 46 Apps, Three Goals
It wasn’t all peachy and creamy for Koscielny at the start of the season when he conceded a penalty and got sent off against Aston Villa. In the Champions League qualifier against Fenerbahce, Pierre Webo kicked his face leaving him concussed and he missed a couple of games to injury.
In his return, Koscielny and Mertesacker built on the telepathic understanding they had forged last season and the clean sheets started piling up for the Gunners, particularly at the Emirates. Koscielny also got in on the scoring act with goals against Sunderland and Newcastle but his most important goal was the equalizer for the Gunners in the FA Cup final.
It’s also heartwarming to know that he has signed a long term deal with the club.
Rating – 9/10
Per Mertesacker – 52 Apps, Three Goals
There was a reason Mertesacker played the most games for Arsenal this season. He is an exceptional footballer, a leader, and most importantly, a defensive colossus. His pairing with Koscielny has been heralded as the best pairing in the League and with 16 clean sheets to their name, it’s not hard to see why.
In the absences of Vermaelen and Arteta, Mertesacker also wore the captain’s armband and his performance against Dortmund in his native Germany was one of the best performances I’ve seen from a defender in a game. Mertesacker would have been a pantomime villain if the penalty he conceded against Wigan turned out to be the deciding factor of the game but he showed off great determination to be on the right end of the pitch to head the ball home, sending the game into extra time.
I can’t wait to see the BFG next season.
Rating – 9/10
So there you have it, the second of four posts focused on different playing positions in the team. My take on the midfield comes up next.
The voting sequence for the 2013/14 End of Season awards is still ongoing, so feel free to make your votes count in the polls.
Sayonara.
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A Tribute to Bacary Sagna: An Epitome of Consistency
My best Sagna moment
It’s the 2006/07 season, Arsenal’s first campaign at the Emirates. The Gunners struggle in the Premier League ending up with a fourth placed finish. The club’s Champions League campaign ends in shambles after crashing out to PSV Eindhoven in the Round of 16 and there’s even more heartbreak in the FA Cup as the Gunners lose to Blackburn. The club’s only hope of a trophy comes up against Chelsea in the Carling Cup final and Wenger decides to field the likes of Justin Hoyte, Armand Traore, Denilson Neves, Jeremie Aliadere and Drogba’s wifey, Phillippe Senderos.
After another trophy-less campaign, there are some surprising sales that summer. After so many years of faithful service, Fredrik Ljungberg is sold to West Ham, El Homesickla, or Jose Antonio Reyes as he’s known in the modern world finds his way to Atletico Madrid, and it’s also shocking to know that the club’s record goalscorer, Thierry Henry, has jumped ship to FC Barcelona.
How does Arsene Wenger respond? He buys Lukasz Fabianski to replace the departed Mart Poom, the lethal and clinical Cro-zilian, Eduardo da Silva, for Henry, Lassana Diarra and a relatively unknown right back from AJ Auxerre, Bacary Sagna. With only the threat of Emmanuel Eboue to battle with, Sagna marauded the right wing with his balanced style of play and after making 40 appearances and six assists to his name, Sagna was deservedly voted into the 2007/08 Team of the Year.
Sagna didn’t rest on his laurels and he continued to produce consistent displays week-in week-out, while keeping his optimal fitness levels in check. His continued stellar performances brought an abrupt end to Eboue’s Arsenal career, as the Ivorian opted to join Galatasaray in his bid to play first-team football.
His moment of glory came with a price, as he injured himself after scoring his first ever goal for the club in that Didier Drogba-inspired 2 – 1 loss to Chelsea in Stamford Bridge. In the 2010/11 campaign, he managed to score two well-taken goals against Everton in Goodison Park and Leeds United in Elland Road. His most important goal as it sparked a revival in one of the most enthralling games I’ve witnessed as an Arsenal fan. That was a North London Derby to remember.
Every true Arsenal fan will always remember the North London derby last season at the Emirates for more reasons than one.
Arsenal’s fierce rivals arrived at the Emirates sitting 10 points clear of the Gunners and they went two goals behind for a considerable chunk of the first half, which meant that they would have been 13 points behind Tottenham and their third place ambitions would have been obliterated.
But when the going got tough, it took one header to inspire Arsenal to an unbelievable comeback. A header from Bacary Sagna.
However, when Sagna’s nodded Mesut Ozil’s cross in Arsenal’s win over Stoke, little did we know that it would turn out to be his last goal for the club.
In his time at Arsenal, the fans have become accustomed to his eccentric hairstyle, his beautiful Ludivine, his optimal fitness levels, amazing work rate, his influence on Carl Jenkinson and most importantly, his unrivaled consistency that has been put in question this season. Suffering two broken legs definitely took a toll on Sagna’s fitness and form, but he myst be lauded for trying to come back stronger.
No thoroughbred Arsenal fan will ever forget his 5-star performance against Sunderland this season.
He was drafted into an unfamiliar center back role after Laurent Koscielny picked up a knock in the warm up but Sagna’s performance against Sunderland would go down as one of his best in Arsenal colors. His cause wasn’t helped with the fact that the stand-in right back, Carl Jenkinson, got a red card that exposed his naivety but Sagna marshaled a defense that held the fort from start to finish. He made a lot of vital interceptions, clearances, headers and was awesome in every sense of the word.
In football, the art of tackling requires a lot of precision as well as technique. If you get it right, you might earn an ovation from the crowd…but if you get it wrong, you’ll find yourself in the referee’s book.
Fortunately, Sagna is ranked among the best tacklers in the business, and his record of just 22 yellow cards and one red card in 213 Premier League games is a testament of that. If you doubt Sagna’s clinical abilities in tackling, take a good look at Lee Cattermole’s Premier League profile, where he has amassed 65 yellow cards and seven red cards in 204 games.
Everyone also appreciates the impact he has had on Carl Jenkinson’s fledgling career.
When Carl Jenkinson joined the club as a relatively unknown figure from Charlton Athletic, Wenger took him under his tutelage and made a big call by letting cult hero, Emmanuel Eboue, to go Turkey, leaving young Jenko to understudy Sagna.
After a series of not too impressive performances, Jenkinson got his big break when Sagna was out injured and after watching him make stellar performances from the sidelines, Sagna acknowledged that the young full back will be one of the best in the business (via Arsenal.com),
“He has been really good, and has learned a lot, he is a bit more confident with the ball, and is very solid as a defender.
“He brings a lot to the team, and I am very happy for him because he is a hard worker, a very good guy and is going to be one of the best.”
Since then, Jenkinson signed a long-term deal with the club, made his international debut in England’s defeat to Sweden and he even opened his goalscoring account for the club.
The Metro reports that he has been offered a bumper contract by Manchester City and he would join the exodus of Quinn, David Seaman, Emmanuel Adebayor, Kolo Toure, Gael Clichy and $amir Na$ri that left the Gunners to earn bigger bucks at the Etihad. Many fans have voiced their concerns on the issue and while others are unhappy that he’s moving to Arsenal’s rivals, fans like me have given him our blessing and we can only wish him all the best.
There are so many things to love about Bacary Sagna, but none can be compared to his consistency on the field of play.
Week-in week-out, Sagna marauded Arsenal’s right flank balancing his defensive and attacking play superbly. Since the days of Lee Dixon and Lauren Etame-Meyer, Sagna’s performances on the right ranks him with the very best in the beautiful game and Arsenal fans are honored to have such an amazing player in every sense of the word.
After 284 appearances, five goals and 22 assists, Sagna’s seven-year stint with Arsenal is over.
Here’s to Sagna, an epitome of consistency.
Sayonara.
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