Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli has claimed that Arsenal loanee Matteo Guendouzi is on his way to becoming one of the best in the world.
The Gunners may well regret the decision to allow him to join Ligue 1 side, with him joining on loan last summer before agreeing a permanent switch to the club come the end of the season.
While he remains tied to Arsenal at present, some may rue his absence in our squad as we struggle for form following the absence of Thomas Partey through injury, and with our top-four aspirations drifting away.
Guendouzi remains on course to play in the elite European competition next term however after helping his side to sit firmly in second in the French division.
The youngster, who is set to turn 23 in the coming days, has come in for praise from his current boss at Marseille, who claimed that he is not only physically ‘exceptional’, but describes him as a central part of his side.
‘Guendouzi’s physical condition is exceptional. He can recover very quickly, he has less risk of injury,’ Sampaoli is quoted in the Metro as stating.
‘He has also managed to impose himself, which can be seen with his selections for the France team. Finally, he is the soul of the team.
‘He has not progressed thanks to me, it is in general, he has gained in maturity. He is on the way to becoming one of the best midfielders in the world.’
While Guendouzi clearly had some immaturity issues while at Arsenal previously, he is still a young man, and with the talent that he showed from a really young age we should have dealt with this one differently.
It is inevitable that Matteo will end up at a bigger club one day, and I wouldn’t be shocked if he became a key player for the likes of Real Madrid down the line, while I wouldn’t be shocked if we continued with Xhaka as our main man for another four years.
Does Arteta struggle with certain personalities? Does anyone else already regret allowing Guendouzi to go, even without considering the low fee we will receive?
Patrick
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