Former Arsenal Defender Back to His Best After Ditching Gunners in January Transfer

Former Arsenal star Mathieu Debuchy has been nominated for Ligue 1's player of the month award alongside Paris Saint-Germain poster boy Neymar. The 32-year-old

Former Arsenal star Mathieu Debuchy has been nominated for Ligue 1's player of the month award alongside Paris Saint-Germain poster boy Neymar.

The 32-year-old spent almost four years on the books at the Emirates following a £14m move from Newcastle but only made 30 appearances for the club - largely due to the rise of Hector Bellerin.

Debuchy opted to leave the Emirates in January and return to France, penning a short-term deal with Saint-Étienne to try and get in contention for a place in Didier Deschamps' World Cup squad.

FRANCOIS LO PRESTI/GettyImages

After just five appearances with Les Verts, Debuchy is already being tipped to be on the plane to Russia this summer and remains unbeaten with his new side, winning two games and drawing three - polar opposite form to what is currently being seen in north London.

The veteran defender, who has racked up 27 appearances with the French national team, has already scored two goals during his short spell with Saint-Étienne, the same amount of goals he scored during his entire Arsenal career.

Just five weeks after leaving #Arsenal, Mathieu Debuchy has scored two goals, lost no games, become cult hero at St Etienne, been nominated alongside Neymar for #Ligue1 player of month award, and got himself back in World Cup contention for France

— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) March 5, 2018

Debuchy was often a character who divided opinion in north London but there was always a consensus that he was never given a real chance to impress the Arsenal faithful - often spending time with the club's second team or out on loan.

Now being given a chance to impress back in Ligue 1 and having the confidence of his manager, Jean-Louis Gasset, Debuchy is showing that the Gunners made a deadly mistake in limiting his playing time at the club.