Arsenal Transfers News: Mathieu Debuchy Blames Arsene Wenger for Exit, Rumours

Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy has blamed manager Arsene Wenger for his decision to leave the Gunners in January and join Ligue 1 side Bordeaux on loan, even suggesting the Gunners chief didn't deliver on a promise he made regarding playing time.

The 30-year-old did an interview with French TV Station Canal Plus (h/t Get French Football News Press Conferences), during which he blamed Wenger for the way things didn't work out in north London, via Squawka's Pete Sharland.

This isn't the first time Debuchy has suggested he didn't receive playing time he was promised. Back in mid-January, he told French publication L'Equipe (h/t a Press Association report via the Guardian): “Yes, I clearly lost six months. I would have preferred to leave last summer, but the coach told me I would have my chance—it was not the case."

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A spate of injury problems, particularly ankle and shoulder surgeries, per David Hytner of the Guardian, wrecked Debuchy's move before his Arsenal career really got going.

Debuchy became unhappy at the club once he lost his job to jet-heeled young Spaniard Hector Bellerin. The 20-year-old former Barcelona prospect offered a lot more going forward, as well as greater recovery pace in defensive areas, than the ex-Newcastle United man.

Those qualities kept Debuchy on the bench, despite the one-time Lille star joining the Gunners in 2014 as an apparent first-choice, replacing Bacary Sagna, for a fee reportedly "believed to be £12 million," according to Sky Sports.

Yet, instead of becoming an integral member of a new-look back four, Debuchy was reduced to work as an emergency centre-back—a role Wenger deployed him in during a 2-2 Premier League draw at Liverpool in late-December 2014.

When Debuchy did get a start at his natural position, like in the club's 2-1 Capital One Cup win over local rivals Tottenham Hotspur in September 2015, he struggled mightily.

Writing for Squawka, Arsenal blogger Jeorge Bird lamented the calamitous display: "Debuchy’s performance that night, however, was wretched, as he frequently pushed too high up the pitch, appeared sluggish when on the ball and, by the end of the first half, was clearly being targeted by Mauricio Pochettino’s team."

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In fact, Sharland has stated even a return to French top-flight football hasn't done much to improve Debuchy's game: "He has made three appearances so far in Ligue 1, but he hasn’t exactly proved that Wenger was wrong to let him go."

But Arsenal have hardly missed the international right-back. Without Debuchy, Bellerin has continued to flourish. Wenger can still also rely on Calum Chambers and Kieran Gibbs for cover at full-back.

As for Debuchy, his career still hasn't recovered from the tough start he made at Arsenal. It seems like a long road back for the one-time highly regarded defender.