Arsenal Opinion: Alexis Claude-Maurice might be the next Guendouzi at the Emirates
According to claims from French news outlet L’Equipe, as cited by GFFN, Arsenal are closely monitoring the progress of €10 million-rated FC Lorient attacker Alexis Claude-Maurice, with Bundesliga duo Borussia Monchengladbach and Eintracht Frankfurt also expressing an interest in the 20-year-old Ligue 2 star.
The same report claims that Atletico Madrid are also keeping tabs on the French youth international, while Ligue 1 sides LOSC Lille and AS Monaco have also been credited with an interest in the talented youngster.
Claude-Maurice has been making plenty of noise at the Brittany-based club in the French second tier this season with his consistently impressive displays. The 20-year-old has contributed with 13 goals and 3 assists from 29 appearances in Ligue 2 to keep his team in the race for a place in the promotion playoffs.
The deal, if it materializes, would be Arsenal’s second raid on FC Lorient in consecutive summers following the £8 million capture of Matteo Guendouzi last year.
The fans at north London have every reason to be excited about the club’s links with another Lorient youngster after Guendouzi’s heroics in his first season in English football. The teenager has really come of age under the charismatic stewardship of Unai Emery and has proven himself to be a tailor-made fit for the manager’s pressing tactics in the midfield.
Given that Guendouzi has successfully nailed down a regular starting role at the Emirates, the fans have every reason to believe Alexis Claude-Maurice can also follow the footsteps of his former teammate and emerge as a raging success at north London for a bargain price.
Essentially an attacking midfielder by trade, Claude-Maurice has largely been used on the left-hand side of Lorient’s attack, though he is capable of playing out wide on either flank and also in a No.10 role behind the striker.
A regular for France at all youth levels upto U20, the youngster is noted for his agility, sharpness, pace, flair, dribbling and vision, and has earned plaudits for his playmaking abilities.
Not only does he have the ability to dribble at pace and create space for himself with sharp turns but he is also capable of using his vision, awareness, presence of mind and speed of thought to set up goalscoring chances for his teammates.
Claude-Maurice also excels at using his frame to hold on to the ball, which allows him to link up with his teammates and get involved in the build-up play.
Known for his clinical finishing and work-rate off the ball, the French starlet also has a penchant for scoring goals from outside the box with accurate and well-placed efforts on goal.
To put things into perspective, Alexis Claude-Maurice has the raw talent and plenty of potential to carve out a name for himself in any top European league in the years to come and Arsenal have every reason to believe that he can make the step up to the Premier League, especially after Guendouzi’s successful first season.
Unai Emery has done a tremendous job in his first season at the club and he is likely to overhaul the core of his squad in the summer, though he would have a budget of only £40 million in the summer if Arsenal do not manage to secure a top-four finish (h/t Sun).
This might prompt the manager to look for players in the market who would fetch good value for money and Claude-Maurice certainly falls in that bracket.
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Moreover, Emery has been instrumental in bringing up youngsters like Guendouzi and Ainsley Maitland-Niles to the Premier League level while also giving academy products like Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock and Eddie Nketiah a chance to play senior football in the group stages of the Europa League.
Hence, the Spaniard knows how to back the young guns at the club and the acquisition of Claude-Maurice might prove to be another massive bargain for the Gunners.
