‘I wanted to join Man Utd from Arsenal but manager blocked my dream transfer’

Out of the few players to have turned out for both of today’s opponents Newcastle and Arsenal, one of them actually dreamed of playing for their Premier League rivals Manchester United

Mathieu Debuchy slammed Arsene Wenger for blocking a potential move to Manchester United. The former Arsenal defender was candid about his wish to leave the club in December 2016 after joining from the Gunners’ Sunday opponents Newcastle two years prior.

The right-back was signed for around £12million, having previously enjoyed a successful period at Lille where he clinched the Ligue 1 title in 2011. In his debut season with the Gunners, Debuchy was restricted to just 15 appearances across all competitions due to injuries.

Upon regaining full fitness, he found it difficult to replace Hector Bellerin as the first-choice right-back. In the 2015/16 season, he only played twice before securing a loan move to Bordeaux in the January transfer window, hoping to secure a spot in France’s Euro 2016 squad.

Despite returning to his home country, Debuchy expressed frustration over how he was treated at Arsenal. He claimed that the Gunners had stopped a possible move to Premier League rivals United a year earlier and admitted that he barely spoke with Wenger.

Reflecting on his proposed move to Old Trafford, Debuchy told L’Equipe, as per ESPN: “I wasn’t playing a lot, it was United, there’s nothing else to say.

READ MORE: Ex-Liverpool coach calls out Arsenal and former team for ‘ugly’ play as new trend emergesREAD MORE: Arsenal news: Mikel Arteta told he’ll ‘regret’ decision as Kylian Mbappe gets transfer snub

“For me, it was almost unexpected, but the coach said no. It’s something I did not appreciate. He wasn’t using me, so I didn’t see his interest in doing that.”

When asked about his relationship with veteran Arsenal boss Wenger, Debuchy revealed he barely communicated with his fellow Frenchman. “We acknowledge each other, we say hello, nothing more,” he added.

Debuchy claimed that Arsenal had blocked his transfer to Old Trafford, forcing him to join Bordeaux, where he featured nine times. Despite rumoured interest from clubs including Espanyol and Fiorentina, he couldn’t secure a permanent switch and encountered a similar scenario once more in December 2016, though fitness issues prevented him from securing a fresh start.

“My situation doesn’t meet what I had been hoping for, but that’s football,” he said. “There have been things, injuries and the coach’s choices that have meant that I haven’t played. Even if I don’t understand, I’m not surprised, I know how it works. [I want] a way out. I want to take on a new challenge, to get back into it, to simply do my job properly.”

However, Debuchy’s accusations didn’t go unanswered. Arsenal manager Wenger rejected the notion that Arsenal had prevented a potential switch to United and also addressed other transfer speculation concerning the defender.

“They have never made an offer for him,” Wenger said, as per the Guardian. “It’s completely untrue. It’s sometimes surprising to hear things like that.

“When he had the opportunities to play when Bellerín was injured, he was injured [too]. So I cannot do anything about that. I gave him last year the opportunity to go to Bordeaux on loan, but we had nobody coming in for him over the summer period and there are some things that are not true in this article.

“We never blocked him to go to Fiorentina, nor Espanyol. They had no interest in him at all because we checked that, so you have to take this [L’Equipe] article with a little distance.”

Debuchy eventually got his wish to leave Arsenal in January 2018, six months before his Gunners contract expired. He moved to Saint Etienne without a transfer fee and remained there for three and a half years. He then enjoyed a two-year stint with Valenciennes before retiring in 2023.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don’t like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.