Guendouzi set to be handed fresh terms
According to French news outlet Le10Sport, Arsenal outcast Matteo Guendouzi is expected to sign fresh contract at the Emirates Stadium.
Although the 21-year-old look destined to leave, the Gunners are willing to offer him a new contract to “preserve his market value.”
The former Lorient man had a run in with Arsenal coach Mikel Arteta just after the lockdown was raised in June last year.
As a result, he vanished from the first team picture and trained alone for close to a month. In the following shop window, the London side offloaded Guendouzi to the German Bundesliga outfit Hertha Berlin, where he made 24 appearances.
French club Marseille have shown the most interest in the 21-year-old this summer and have already reportedly seen an offer of 10m rejected. No one is willing to cough up to €20m, which is Arsenal’s asking price.
It’s astonishing how quickly the Frenchman’s market value has plummeted in the past few seasons. When Mikel Arteta took over at Arsenal in December 2019, Guendouzi was valued at an astonishing €50.00m.
Technical Director Edu and Arteta still see the young midfielder as a talented player, who can raise a significant fee from his departure. That’s why there is reluctancy from the club’s board to let him go on a cut-price deal.
Arsenal are hopeful of tripling the €7 million they spent on him in 2018. And that’s the reason behind the talks of handing him fresh terms.
Yash Bisht