This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.
Back in July 2014, Arsenal signed Frenchman Mathieu Debuchy from fellow Premier League side Newcastle United for £13.50 million, per Transfermarkt. The Magpies had a very decent season in 2013/14 under Alan Pardew, finishing tenth in the division, and clearly some of the performances Debuchy put in that season to help the club achieve a top half finish had attracted the Gunners.
He would not go on to make a great impression at the North London side however, and this was mostly due to the fact that he suffered a few injuries early on in his Arsenal career. These injuries caused him to miss 36 games in his first year at the club, per Transfermarkt. From then it was hard to cement himself as a starting eleven player, and due to this the Gunners loaned the right-back out to French side Bordeaux in February 2016 for half a season.
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The defender would only spend three and a half seasons at the club, and this includes his time on loan in Ligue 1. He played 30 games for Arsenal in this period, scoring one and assisting two goals, but eventually he was allowed to go to Saint-Etienne on a free transfer in January 2018.
Due to his injury struggles, Debuchy had a hard time at the Gunners, but the fact is that he only managed 30 games for the club and they lost over £13 million on him, highlights that the Frenchman was sadly a total dud for the club.
Gunners fans, was Debuchy unlucky with his injuries? Comment below!
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