Arsenal’s forgotten midfielder Matteo Guendouzi is set to make his stay at the Stade Velodrome permanent as he’s set to sign a three-year contract with Marseille in June, keeping him at the club until 2025.
The move was made known by Marseille president Pablo Longoria on RMC Sport show, stating that the midfielder has met a clause which was included in his loan deal.
The 22-yrs-old Frenchman has made himself an important figure both in the dressing room and on the pitch for Jorge Sampaoli’s team, hereby amassing up to 38 appearances in all competitions over this current campaign.
“Aside from his youth, Matteo has a particular energy. He has a desire to win and he’s a natural leader. We imagined that would be the case but that it would happen over time,” the Argentine tactician explained in January. “Seeing this in addition to his performances, we have an energy that everyone can envy. It’s contagious and it’s a very important value in life.
“Experience is important for everyone but, for young people, sometimes difficult events are not good experiences. There’s also personal capacity on the mental side. Guendouzi, for example, he’s 22-years-old but he acts like he’s 30.
“The most important thing is maturity.”
Matteo Guendouzi was signed by Arsenal as a 19-year-old prospect in July 2018 for a reported fee of £8million under former coach Unai Emery. He almost immediately became a prominent member of the team after impressing Unai Emery during the team’s preseason games.
Guendouzi was supposedly heading towards a loan move immediately after arriving at the Emirates but his incredible play, technicality, passion, vision, and flair, made him rise to rank among the best youngsters in the world, thereby, increasing his market value rapidly.
His talent and passion can’t be doubted but his off-field attitude couldn’t allow the Frenchman to win the heart of Mikel Arteta, despite been considered an integral part of the club’s long-term.
Controversies and melodrama have surely been part of Guendouzi’s history despite his little professional experience, his former boss at Lorient once said he’s “very complicated” to manage. Former Arsenal youngster, Jeremie Aliadiere, who once had a spell at Lorient, told Le Telegramme, “Frankly, from the point of view of talent and purely football, if I’m just talking about that, there is no surprise.
“After, during my last season in Lorient, when he started to train with us and to play, I had a little question about his attitude.
“I said to myself: He’ll have to change a bit. He’s in Lorient, so it’s understandable, it’s a small family club, that’s it. But if he wants to climb the ladder and go play in a big club, his attitude will have to change. I think he understood that right away when he arrived (at Arsenal).”
His loan spell at Hertha Berlin couldn’t have been less of a drama as well as their manager, Pál Dárdai, said, “It’s like puberty for him, he’s kind of a rebel. He has to work and learn like an animal.
“In training, I always stop these kinds of duels (like the one where Guendouzi lost the ball, allowing RB Leipzig to score a second goal, by falling over to try and win a free-kick) because you can’t fall to the ground like this. And, afterwards, he’s mad.”
Guendouzi last featured under Mikel Arteta when the midfielder had a post-match altercation with Brighton’s forward Neal Maupay, and afterwards he was excluded from Arsenal training and was also left out of the club’s match-day squads due to a continuous history of issues with his attitude and general conduct.
Despite his obvious talent and high ceiling, his time with the Gunners has now come to an abrupt end alongside most of the squad that featured prominently under former coach Unai Emery such as Sokratis, Mustafi, Bellerin, Kolasinac, Monreal, Martinez, Aubameyang and the likes.
