It’s looking increasingly likely that Mathieu Debuchy will be off in January.

The right-back has been replaced by Hector Bellerin in the starting 11 and made it clear that once he returned from injury he wanted to regain his place or else he would leave. However, since he’s come back both his positioning and pace have taken a hit, and although Bellerin’s hasn’t exactly been on point recently, he’s still the better option.

Arsene Wenger admitted during his pre-Newcastle press conference that Debuchy could leave, although he wants him to stay.

“It’s not impossible [that Debuchy will leave],” he said.

“I’m happy if he stays but we’ll see.”

As far as the boss goes, this is practically a confirmation that the defender will be off sooner rather than later, which means we could be seeing a new addition to right-back by the end of January. Although Calum Chambers would have originally been back-up in that position, the 20-year-old appears to be a lot more comfortable in midfield and therefore, we may look elsewhere.