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Mathieu Debuchy has admitted he is ‘annoyed’ with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger after the Frenchman blocked a deadline day move to Manchester United.
The 30-year-old France international eventually joined Bordeaux on loan until the end of the season in a desperate attempt to inject life into his bid to be named in Didier Deschamps’ squad for the European Championship this summer.
United manager Louis van Gaal showed a late interest in taking Debuchy to Old Trafford on a similar deal but the prospect was scuppered by Wenger, who was hesitant to aid the efforts of an immediate rival.
The former Newcastle full-back told Canal+: “I was disappointed, obviously. If I had the chance to go to Manchester United it would have been magnificent.
“Unfortunately it wasn't the case. I discussed it with the coach too, who said that obviously he couldn't help out a rival. Yes, I'm a little bit annoyed with him. It's his choice. I had a good pre-season.
“He said that I would have game time and that we would discuss it in December. Unfortunately, I didn't have this game time.”
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Meanwhile, Per Mertesacker has lauded Danny Welbeck following the England striker’s last-minute winner against Premier League title rivals Leicester City on Sunday.
“Yes, he does,” the German World Cup winner said, asked if Welbeck now has a big part to play in the Gunners’ season.
“We need players coming back. We had a lot of long-term injuries and that's what gave us a bit of struggle in January because we played in December and then January with almost the same team.
“Players who gave us great energy stepped in but now we need other players to come back. Making the difference is very important in this league as you could see today.
“We are happy to have Danny back and a few others are not far. We need all our players. In the end, that makes the difference. There's more coming from other players as well.”
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