Arsenal have completed the signing of Newcastle United and France defender Mathieu Debuchy in a £10million deal.
Arsène 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.”
Debuchy will join up with his new team-mates soon for pre-season preparations and is expected to make his debut at the Emirates Cup in the first weekend of August.
He said: “I’m very proud to be joining a great club like Arsenal and to wear its colours, it’s one of the biggest clubs in the whole world. I’m looking forward to working with Arsène Wenger and to helping the team build on last season’s FA Cup success. Playing again in the Champions League is a big excitement for me and I will do my best to help Arsenal compete for trophies.”
The 28-year-old Debuchy featured 46 times for Newcastle during an 18-month spell. He spent the first nine years of his senior career with French side Lille, where he made 233 Ligue 1 appearances for his boyhood club and a further 18 in the Uefa Champions League.
