LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has downplayed comments by right-back Mathieu Debuchy about the state of their relationship, but indicated he will listen to offers for the Frenchman in January.
Debuchy told L'Equipe on Thursday that he hardly speaks to Wenger anymore after the Arsenal boss blocked a move to Manchester United last January and that he wants "a way out" from the Emirates in this upcoming transfer window.
However, Wenger said Debuchy was merely frustrated because of his injury problems and denied that United ever made a formal offer for the player.
Asked if he would listen to offers for Debuchy, Wenger said: "Yes of course. But we speak. I communicate with all the players. It's a little bit a frustrated [interview] from a player who is injured. When you are injured you cannot play. When he had the opportunities to play when [Hector] Bellerin was injured, he was injured. I cannot do anything about that."
Debuchy was signed from Newcastle in 2014 but then suffered a shoulder injury and saw Bellerin emerge as Wenger's first-choice right-back in his absence. He went on loan to Bordeaux last January in order to earn a spot in France's Euro 2016 squad but missed the tournament because of another injury. He then suffered a calf problem in preseason and didn't play until November -- when he pulled a hamstring just 15 minutes into his first start of the campaign.
That hamstring injury could complicate any move in January as Debuchy is still not fully fit, while Carl Jenkinson has also been linked with a loan move which would leave Wenger without a natural backup to Bellerin. But with centre-back Gabriel Paulista having shown his ability to play on the right, and Bellerin having signed a six-year contract extension, Wenger could be more willing to let both Debuchy and Jenkinson leave.
Wenger also disputed some of Debuchy's comments about Arsenal having rejected interest from other clubs.
"I gave him last year the opportunity to go to Bordeaux on loan but we had nobody coming in for him during the summer period. And there are some that are not true in this article, we never blocked him from going to Fiorentina or Espanyol, they had no interest in him at all because we checked that. You have to take this article with a bit of distance," Wenger said.
The Arsenal boss acknowledged a year ago that he did block an approach from United for Debuchy, saying it was natural to prevent a player from going to a direct title rival. But he denied on Friday that United ever made a formal offer for the defender.
"They never made an offer for him. It's completely untrue," Wenger said. "It's sometimes surprising to hear things like that."