All stats are courtesy of statistics website Squawka. Learn more about Squawka and the free app by clicking here.

It was Mathieu Debuchy who won out this summer when Didier Deschamps was assessing his right back options for the World Cup.

And Arsene Wenger has also deemed the former Newcastle winger as a more than adequate replacement for Bacary Sagna who has gone to Manchester City.

But how did the international team-mates and rivals for the right back spot compare for their clubs last season and can Debuchy give Arsenal greater attacking thrust from the right flank?

Firstly it must be noted that both players lined out in radically different teams in terms of style and philosophy, with the Magpies far more direct than the Gunners.

In an attacking sense, Debuchy created more chances per game than Sagna according to Squawka. While Debuchy created 0.79 chances per match for Newcastle during 2013/14, Sagna created far fewer total chances despite starting six more Premier League matches. His overall rate was just 0.6 per game.

Granted Newcastle were more direct than Arsenal, but one of the criticisms of Sagna from Arsenal fans' perspective is his unwillingness to cross the ball with regularity.

That is reflected in the Squawka stats and graphics which show Sagna making far more backwards passes than Debuchy, although his pass accuracy rate is far superior (85 - 73 per cent):

Debuchy's Squawka stats (top); Sagna (bottom)

Defensively both players matched up quite evenly in terms of percentage of tackle duels won, aerial challenges won and as well as successful dribbles.

Debuchy also had more interceptions per game (2.4) in comparison to Sagna (1.5), although that stat is skewed slightly by the fact that Arsenal had more possession than Newcastle.

And in terms of the position of crosses and chances created, Debuchy had a better cross completion rate and created far more from deeper positions than Sagna did and it will be interesting to see if Wenger encourages the former Lille full back to get closer to the byline. 

While, it is unclear if Debuchy is a undisputed upgrade on Sagna, he is certainly not a downgrade, although he cannot play at centre-half as his compatriot did at times last term.