Picturing Mathieu Debuchy As Newcastle's Right Back

Newcastle's obvious, persistent interest in Mathieu Debuchy has been a godsend for would-be scouts like ourselves. How often do you get to watch a transfer target playing alongside two of your club's current star players? The recent French national team friendly matches have given us that opportunity. Here's what I've learned from watching Debuchy, especially in the France-Iceland match that featured a right-side partnership with Hatem Ben Arfa, and Yohan Cabaye in central midfield.

The thumbnail sketch of Debuchy as a classic attacking fullback is correct, but omits the most striking thing I noticed about his approach. He stations himself farther up the field than virtually any fullback I've seen. The gamble pays off when France started its attacks. Ben Arfa pulls the opposing left back away from the sideline, leaving plenty of open space for Debuchy to overlap and whip in a cross - which he does with regularity. 

If given the opportunity, he will press ahead even further. His goal against Iceland was scored from inside the six-yard box in open play. Danny Simpson may have played the whole season without getting within 15 yards of that spot on the pitch. In the same vein, he whistled a shot wide against Estonia from just outside the 18-yard box, near the center of the field - another position Simpson would find unfamiliar. 

However, much like Davide Santon in his earlier games at Newcastle, Debuchy is prone to getting caught out of position, and he's been punished for it. Iceland's second goal came as Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (once tenuously linked to Newcastle himself) outran Debuchy to tap the ball in from a cross. Estonian forward Tarmo Kink found space behind him on the left wing early in Tuesday's friendly, as did John Utaka when Lille faced off against Montpellier late in the Ligue 1 campaign.

In short, this is not the sort of player you would expect the fairly cautious Alan Pardew to covet. Except for one curiosity that had to warm the hearts of the Newcastle scouts attending the Iceland match. At times, Ben Arfa was pulled back to cover Debuchy, almost as if the two had swapped positions.

Everything that was said all season about Ben Arfa's need to work on defense has most definitely paid off. And he and Debuchy (or a similar style fullback) will need to work together on both ends of the field to make the partnership successful. Had Pardew and Ben Arfa not gotten on the same page this spring, Newcastle would undoubtedly have gone for a stay-at-home fullback, a better version of Simpson.

Of course, Debuchy's positioning has been significant for France because of the shaky play of Adil Rami and Philippe Mexes alongside him. That's why the key to the summer will be a new partner for Fabricio Coloccini. A center back with enough pace to slow down a counterattack from the left wing would be a tremendous asset. Someone like Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa would fit the bill perfectly. The competition for both Debuchy and Yanga-Mbiwa looks tough. Let's hope Cabaye and Ben Arfa worked some Gallic charm in the national team camp to help put both players in black and white next year.

Comments

[pete]

Great article, hope we can still sign him after the attention he'll get at the euros.
Also, any news of the rumoured Pittsburgh friendly?

[Vipers_Kingy]

Interesting read. I think Debuchy would have to play more defensively here. I recall Jhn Beresford relating Keegan's instructions for covering the left with David Ginola ahead of him as something like "just do your best, you've not got much chance," and to an extent, this is the case with Ben Arfa if you don't have a strong three across the middle, certainly it would apply in a 4-4-2. Debuchy and HBA in this situation would amount to a pretty much open corridor down the right of our half! I'm not convinced he is the full back we are looking for, though he'd be great in a 5-3-2, that would leave little space for Ben Arfa himself.

[Rob]

A very interesting article. I liked the idea of Debuchy and Ben Arfa swapping defensive responsibility occasionally. Too often the wide midfielder ends up working like a Trojan while the full back has a comparatively leisurely time. It's a good idea to share the workload a bit.