According to a report by La Provence (h/t Football.london), Arsenal are willing to let Matteo Guendouzi leave on a transfer in the summer window, with French club Olympique Marseille interested in his services. The 22-year-old spent the last season on loan to Hertha Berlin in Bundesliga.
And Arsenal are willing to part ways with the midfielder for a fee in the region of £13million. Arsenal fans had big hopes from Guendouzi when he signed for the club all the way back in 2018 but with his Gunners career seemingly stalled, we find out why it’s wise of Mikel Arteta to let him leave.
There does not seem to be a shortage of midfielders at Arsenal. Yes, Dani Ceballos and Martin Odegaard could return to their parent clubs in the summer but the Gunners still have ample cover in central midfield. And that is boosted by the return of Joe Willock from his loan spell at Newcastle United.
Apart from him, the club currently has Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey, and Mohamed Elneny to fight for the two spots in Arteta’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation this season. And if that’s not enough, the Gunners are in the market for a midfielder. Wolves central midfielder Ruben Neves is linked with a move to the Emirates.
And there is also a chance that Aaron Ramsey could make his way back to Arsenal. In light of this, Guendouzi is certainly expendable. The decision to loan him out last season showed that Mikel Arteta did not have him in his plans then.
The Arsenal star, according to reports, was exiled after a fallout with Mikel Arteta near the end of the 2019/20 Premier League season. In light of the situation above, there does not seem any point in keeping the midfielder who last made an Arsenal appearance in June 2020. And that brings us to another point.
The £13million valuation of Guendouzi by Arsenal, if met, would not be a loss in strictly financial terms. That is because they paid just a shade over half of that amount to Lorient back in 2018 – a deal that cost around £7million. Hence, any money they get over that would at least ensure that Arsenal don’t make a loss on the fee they paid out initially.
Another factor here is that his contract is about to expire. Guendouzi’s deal at the Emirates will expire in the summer of 2022. If Arsenal fail to offload him in this window, then it could mean risking a sellable asset leaving on a free transfer. And it is understandable that no club would want that.
So considering that, Guendouzi can and should be shown the door. Arsenal do not have any shortage of midfielders as of now and as mentioned above, are anyway in the market for new players in that area. It seems that after him being ‘exiled’ from the last year, there may be no way back for him in the starting XI, at least under Arteta.
