Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has paid tribute to the attitude of Mathieu Debuchy, and claimed that the defender is still very much in his thinking at the Emirates Stadium.

Debuchy, 32, has been consistently linked with a move away from the Gunners over the last few years due to Hector Bellerin holding the right-back spot at Arsenal.

The Frenchman, who is valued at £3.1m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has not yet featured in the Premier League this season, but has made four appearances in the Europa League, scoring once in the process.

Indeed, he found the back of the net for the first time in almost three years during Arsenal's 6-0 win over BATE Borisov on Thursday night.

Wenger has revealed that Debuchy has been free to leave on a number of occasions, but the Arsenal boss has paid tribute to the defender's professional attitude.

Wenger told reporters:

"He is under contract [until 2019]. It's down to his performances now and I opened the door for him [to leave] many times because he didn't play and because he has [Hector] Bellerin in front of him.

"I consider him like anybody else and I must say I have a huge respect for his professional side and how much he did fight to come back to the top. He's a tough, tough guy. Tough worker."

Debuchy has only been on the bench in the Premier League on one occasion this season, with his only other appearance coming in the EFL Cup.

Arsenal will look to return to winning ways in the Premier League when they travel to Southampton on Sunday afternoon.

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