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          Arsenal right-back Mathieu Debuchy joins St Etienne on free transfer

          • Mattias Karen, Arsenal correspondentJan 31, 2018, 01:28 PM ET

          Arsenal have allowed right-back Mathieu Debuchy to join French club St Etienne on a free transfer.

          St Etienne announced the deal on Wednesday after the London club released Debuchy from the last 18 months of his contract. The Frenchman hasn't been a regular for Arsenal since Hector Bellerin emerged as Arsene Wenger's first-choice right back in 2014-15 but the club had been unable to find a buyer in the previous three transfer windows.

          He spent the second half of the 2015-16 season on loan at Bordeaux, but then struggled to recover from a long-term injury. This season he made seven starts, all in cup games.

          Debuchy joined Arsenal from Newcastle in 2014 after starting for France in that summer's World Cup, but never regained his starting place after suffering a dislocated shoulder in January 2015.