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Arsenal Have to Retain Mathieu Debuchy

By Josh Sippie

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It is not very often that Arsenal find themselves in a situation where they have too much quality at a specific position. However, that may be the case at right back. Mathieu Debuchy was brought in last summer to be the new starting right back in the regular Arsenal starting XI. Unfortunately for him, injuries sidelined him and Wenger was forced to bring a young Hector Bellerin into the senior squad.

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The results may have looked a bit wobbly at first. Even so, he has quickly matured into our first choice right back,. This leaves Mathieu Debuchy to ponder his options.

Arsene Wenger does not err on the side of too much quality very often. He just struck gold with Bellerin. If Debuchy leaves, it is unlikely that Wenger will replace him with someone of equal experience. He will replace him with Calum Chambers or Carl Jenkinson.

Even from the bench, Debuchy’s presence is felt. He is like a safety blanket. While Debuchy played only 10 matches last season compared to Bellerin’s 20, he still displayed a degree of quality that reminds us that he is the preferred right back of the French National team. He is a class act from the back. Here are how the stats matched up last year on a per 90 minute basis, according to Squawka.

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Again, it is not a drop off by any means. Bellerin provides more pace and more threat offensively. Yet Debuchy is a reliable defender that could have an enormous impact on Arsenal’s ability to shut down the right side of the pitch in the competitions he is involved in.

The problem, of course, is that Debuchy knows his own quality and knows that he is deserving of first-team time. If not at Arsenal, then somewhere else. “Even if I didn’t play a lot last season, in my head I was coming back in order to be in the starting XI for the resumption,” he said via ESPNFC. 

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To lose Debuchy would be tough to overcome because, as mentioned earlier, Wenger would not replace him. He would go with Jenkinson or rely on Chambers. All of a sudden right back is just as dicey a position for Arsenal as defensive midfield and striker. One injury and it is unraveled.

Hector Bellerin is a tremendous find and we have no reason to doubt his qualities. But he is still very young and it would not be surprising to see some lapses in judgment. That is part of the maturation process. Injuries are also a common theme at Arsenal. Having Debuchy ready to cover is a luxury. He may have looked slow and lacking in creativity in recent appearances but we are used to Bellerin. Debuchy is still as solid a defender as we have.

It will not be easy to maintain Mathieu Debuchy. A lot of it comes down to staying relevant in every competition so as to get him plenty of playing time. Whatever the case, Wenger has maintained him through the transfer window and hopefully that will be the case for some time.

Next: Dissecting the Pundits: Paul Merson

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