Arsenal: Mathieu Debuchy the fortress in wide open battlefield

Arsenal’s match against Red Star Belgrade was as open as it gets, but Mathieu Debuchy stood like a fortress in a battlefield with seemingly no rules.

Arsenal and Red Star Belgrade played out a pretty exciting 0-0 draw that saw openness galore. There was space to be found on both sides, and in the process, we saw a lot of moving parts, a lot of free-flowing football and, for lack of a better description, not a lot of discipline or rules.

Arsenal surrendered the ball 25 times in total. 18 poor touches and seven times dispossessed. That is a remarkably steep number that won’t inspire a lot of confidence. But it was the byproduct of a chaotic affair.

On the other side, the Gunners won the ball back 30 times, which is also a pretty steep number, which, to beat the point to death, is evident of a match where people were taking chances.

No one was spared form the chaos. No one, except Mathieu Debuchy, who looked like a sentinel in the mass of headless chickens.

Arsene Wenger had noted before the match that Debuchy might have a future at centerback. He said that he is remarkably good in the air and all things considered, he has always been a talented defender.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

I really liked that idea. Just as Wenger put it, Debuchy has never been a poor defender. He’s been hurt and pushed to the side, which is when supporters drew an imaginary line between not playing and not being good enough.

Debuchy has always been good enough. I don’t want anyone to doubt that, because there is simply no reason to. He’s been rusty since his return, but against Red Star Belgrade, the rust was being shaken off more and more. He had a wayward pass or two, but overall, the Frenchman was so composed that he had the honor of being the only Arsenal man, other than Matt Macey in goal, to not surrender possession.

Not just that, but he upheld the faith of the gaffer, winning more aerial duels than any other man. Just like Shkodran Mustafi, who is not a hulking, Per Mertesacker presence, Debuchy still has the athleticism and ability to win aerial duels as though he did have that added height.

Debuchy also controlled the most touches of anyone else on the team, which I found quite odd, but it’s just another testament to the presence that he had in the match.

Next: Arsenal vs Red Star Belgrade Player Ratings

I’m not going to say he should unseat Laurent Koscielny or something stupid like that. But with so little guaranteed behind our main three defenders – main four, if you include Mertesacker, which I do – it’s nice to know that Debuchy may be just as reliable.

Home/Arsenal News