Arsenal defender, Mathieu Debuchy, has revealed that he and Arsène Wenger are now barely on speaking terms, and that he wishes to leave the club in January.
The 31-year-old has played only 16 minutes of Premier League football this season, and has been sidelined with a thigh injury since November. The French right-back is under contract at Arsenal until 2019, but he wants to leave the club as early as next month in a bid to secure first-team football elsewhere.
Debuchy said, as quoted by L’Equipe:
[I want] a way out. I want to take on a new challenge, to get back into it, to simply do my job properly. At a[ny] given time, you miss the excitement, the adrenaline.I told my agents to get back to me only if there was something concrete. But Marseille is Marseille. Even if the results have been a bit difficult, it’s still one of the biggest clubs in Ligue 1. Also, there is a great project being put in place with a coach I know well.
An injury towards the end of last season ended Debuchy’s hopes of playing for France in Euro 2016, but he says things could have been different had Wenger not vetoed a potential switch to Old Trafford 12 months ago. Manchester United were genuinely interested in him, and a move seemed natural as he wasn’t playing regularly for the Gunners. Wenger, however, prevented him from joining a direct rival club.
He added, “I wasn’t playing a lot, it was United, there’s nothing else to say. For me, it was almost unexpected. It’s something I did not appreciate. He wasn’t using me, so I didn’t see his interest in doing that.”
Another Arsenal player who could leave in January is Carl Jenkinson. The defender has made only five starts this season, and he is set for a move away from the Emirates next month. Arsenal are ready to listen to permanent or loan offers for the full-back.
According to reports from the Daily Mail, the new Crystal Palace manager, Sam Allardyce, is an admirer of Jenkinson and could lodge a formal bid for him, as he is looking to bolster his defence. Likewise, West Ham, the club where he spent two consecutive season-long loan spells, might also show an interest in signing the 24-year-old.
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