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Arsenal have officially completed the signing of French right-back Mathieu Debuchy from fellow Premier League rivals Newcastle United for a reported £10m which could rise to £12m based on potential bonuses.
Debuchy moves to North London after spending 18 months in the North-East of England with the magpies, for whom he made 46 appearances.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger speaking to the club’s official website sounded delighted on completing the deal for the French defender, who appeared in all games for France in the recently concluded FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Wenger said: “We are delighted to welcome Mathieu Debuchy to Arsenal Football Club. He has shown he can perform at the highest level with his club sides and also for France. He is a quality defender who has good Premier League experience and I’m confident he will fit in very well with us.”
Arsenal was on the lookout for a right-back in the off-season after Bacary Sagna left the Gunners this summer on expiry of his contract. In Debuchy, they have found a like-for-like replacement who already boasts of Premier League experience.
Debuchy, who helped Lille to a double Ligue 1 and Coupe de France double in 2010/11 will also look at this as a step up as it gives him a chance to play in the Champions League
The signing has been pretty much a badly kept secret with Debuchy publicly speaking of the move on many occasions and dropping less than subtle hints on his social media accounts.
However, the announcement was held up by Newcastle until they could find a replacement for the departing Frenchman, which they did by signing Daryl Janmaat from Feyenoord.
