Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Bar a notable dip in form in the 2012-13 season, Bacary Sagna
was the very model of consistency for Arsenal and a solid Wenger
consigliere - a man to rely on, a man to to do the dirty work, even if
he spoke at a barely perceptible whisper. To many, his loss to Manchester City and the subsequent recruitment of Debuchy from Newcastle ranks as a minor downgrade. Not that Didier Deschamps would agree, preferring the younger, debonaire Debuchy for France.
Though something has been made of Debuchy's attributes in the air
compared to Sagna, and a cautious few expect an improvement on his
predecessor, most would merely hope the line of succession remains
unbroken in terms of applied consistency, and Debuchy represents more of
the same.
The reality:
Pretty
much what you would expect. Debuchy just makes sense in this Arsenal
team. He slotted in quickly and comfortably and was a solid presence in
the first half. The Frenchman did not demonstrate the dynamism shown by
youngster Hector Bellerin 24 hours previously, but in Lucas Ocampos he
was presented with a dangerous opponent and he also dropped in to help
deal with Falcao on occasion.
In
the second half he executed a successful yet rather inadvisable
bodyswerve in his own box to slip between two Monaco players, but it was
a showy moment otherwise out of keeping with a disciplined performance.
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