Mathieu Debuchy is delighted to have left Arsenal for St Etienne.

The French fullback made the move to ASSE yesterday.

He declared: "I am very happy and proud to join AS Saint-Etienne. I had good discussions with coach Jean-Louis Gasset. I felt that he really wanted me and our exchanges convinced me to come here.

"I want to have fun on the field and help the team of Saint-Etienne to find a better place in the table. Knowing several players like Loïc Perrin, Rémy Cabella, Yann M'Vila and Stéphane Ruffier will ease my integration.

"The club has made a good recruitment and we can achieve great things in this second half of the season. I cannot wait to play at the Geoffroy-Guichard where there is a wonderful atmosphere."