Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi is being linked with a move away from the Emirates Stadium (TF1 via GFFN) and Mikel Arteta could be willing to let the 21-year-old move on this summer, according to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail.
Guendouzi was left out of the Gunners’ squad to face Southampton at St. Mary’s on Thursday night, perhaps following his altercation with Brighton’s Neal Maupay at the end of the fixture between the two clubs last weekend. Arteta refused to categorically say that was the reason for the Frenchman’s absence and put it down to “squad management” but his response to the question, in our view, wasn’t particularly convincing.
Should Arsenal be looking to cash in on Matteo Guendouzi?
Yes
No
In regards to the player’s future at Arsenal, Sami Mokbel told Touchline Fracas: “If Arsenal can get a like-for-like, for Guendouzi, and they can get a good price for Guendouzi from a rival club, it wouldn’t surprise me if Arteta was happy to do that deal. I think Arteta does believe he’s got a problem with his attitude, and it is essentially up to the manager to try and iron those flaws out of his game, but does he have the time to do that?
“Guendouzi is a problem for him because there’s obviously talent there, and you don’t want to let talent go, but equally, you need players who you can rely on – and the question Arteta has to ask himself is, can he rely on Guendouzi? I’m not sure that he can.”
TIF Thoughts…
Arsenal returned to winning ways on Thursday evening, a game in which the midfield positions were taken up by the returning Granit Xhaka and Real Madrid loanee Dani Ceballos.
It’s clear from his comments that Sami Mokbel believes there to be an issue between Mikel Arteta and Matteo Guendouzi but it remains to be seen whether the club will look to move him on as a result of this. The North London club signed the player from Lorient in the summer of 2018 for £7.2m and since his arrival, his value has skyrocketed to £36.45m (via Transfermarkt.co.uk).
In our view, it feels a little early to give up on the former Paris Saint-Germain youth player but if the boss’ mind is made up, the Gunners stand to make a significant profit from any potential sale taking into account the figures quoted above.