Arsenal FC news: Mathieu Debuchy ‘irritated’ with Nice after failing to secure move to French club

Arsenal defender Mathieu Debuchy has opened up on his failed summer switch to Nice.

The right-back looked set to leave the Emirates during the window having fallen well down the first-team pecking order.

It seemed as though the former Newcastle man would be heading back to France with Nice very keen on landing him on a cut-price deal.

But that switch fell through leaving Debuchy at Arsenal, where he remains a peripheral figure.

Now the 32-year-old has lifted the lid on exactly what happened with his proposed move to the Ligue 1 club.

He told L'Equipe: "I had met Julien Fournier, the general manager of the club, in June in Monaco.

"We talked about everything to find out where I was then he asked me to meet the coach, which I agreed to.

"I even accepted to do physical tests, they were positive but afterwards, I did't have any news."

Nice decided to sign fellow right-back Christophe Jallet instead, leaving Debuchy out in the cold.

He added: "Fournier could at least have sent me a message, warning me that in the end, I wasn't their choice.

"It irritated me, it was not correct on their part but it didn't surprise me too much. There are things in football that go beyond me."