All Arsenal fans were honestly expecting to see a new look midfield this season with the arrival of Thomas Partey and the failed purchase of Houssem Aouar. But not only were we let down by Aouar, we haven’t hardly seen Partey play for us yet either! Now he is expected back shortly from his double injury lay-off, Mikel Arteta has said it will be ‘like a new signing’ if we can keep him match fit for a while.
We have mostly made do with Elneny, Ceballos and Xhaka in the middle so far this season, which has hardly been awe-inspiring, until the arrival of Smith-Rowe on the scene in the last few games.
But we have seen our exiled midfielder Matteo Guendouzi excel after going on loan to Hertha Berlin and has even contributed a couple of goals as well. He has been highly praised by his coach Bruno Labbadia. “We’re glad we managed to recruit him,” he said.
“He is a very, very good player, who has a sense of space and is very technically skilled.
“Although he’s young, he gives instructions. He doesn’t care at all that he doesn’t speak the language.”
Considering our results before Christmas due to having zero creativity in the team, Arteta could now be regretting not making up with the young Frenchman in the summer.
Obviously we don’t know if there was any personal animosity between the boss and Guendouzi, but do you think it would be to Arsenal’s advantage to bring him back to the fold?
Our midfield needs as much help as it can get at the moment….
Guendouzi is another one of our young talented players and you could see when he was given his chance at his age he really stepped up and took it! Arteta needs to work it out with him because we need to continue to develop these young players so they can play for us and we can profit from them when we sell them on.
Guendouzi along with Saka martenilli and esr will be a star for sure. It’s very easy to see from those boys!
Guendouzi is a brilliant player
He is.more attacking then some of the current midfielxers
Yes, provided Arsenal is able to free up the squad space.
RIP Colin Bell MBE
Bury FC, Manchester City and England; “The King of the Kippax” and “Nijinski”, one of the great trio of Bell, Lee and Summerbee in the sky blue of Manchester City.
In my opinion, he should stay in germany till the summer. He is playing really well there and a full year will do his confidence a world of good and he will come back a great option for us. If he is recalled right now, maybe there will be issues. Though If we sell someone of our midfield then we obviously have to call him back. But if not, why waste the young man’s playing time here. For all we know MA and MG might not have sorted their differences yet.
Agreed. He wouldn’t come back anyway – he is enjoying himself, he’s playing well and getting playing time. He’s also had his first child which may mean he’d prefer to stay there for now?
Anyway – its clear the manager rates him, and the fans love him.
So lets see..according to rumours and opinion Arsenal will be:
Signing Drexler, Brandt, Eriksen, Isco, Buendia, recalling Guendouzi, and giving Gunnersaurus his first start against Newcastle..
Yeah, probably.
(Oh, and on Guendouzi, you heard he’s expecting a daughter, right? Maybe David Luiz and Willian can give him and his wife some ideas for names! 😁😁🇲🇦🇲🇦🇫🇷🇫🇷
👍
Very good point Sid.
I never understood why he was let go in the first place. He was our Best Midfield Player. Xhaka has done worse than he did. Xhaka even got a red card for grabbing someone by the throat and yet he is still on the team. Don’t understand why fighting spirit and passion is a bad thing. Most of the all-time Arsenal and Man United greats were far worse.
he puts Xhaka to shame I think he has 4 lungs he never stops and should have never been allowed let go MA and Edu get your feckin act together and bring him back
He didn’t apologized, that hurt Arteta Lego’s heart
😂😂
Should never have been sent on loan, he has been missed so much for all the hard work and skill he has got. Also Ozil has well, utter waste leaving him out
Guendouzi has a lot of enthusiasm, much more than his technical ability. In fact his technical ability is similar to Elneny or Xhaka as in playing it safe with little forward momentum.
Like the two aforementioned, Guendouzi will always graft away at trying to disrupt the opposition and win the ball back but when in possession, it will be a series of sideways or backward passes. Good for ball retention stats but all very counter effective.
Guendouzi would be a good combatant in our midfield but he won’t do much beyond what we know of him and or beyond Elneny or Xhaka. However, if he was drilled into playing a different game by the coach and given more license, he might be more effective as an attacking midfielder but he would also need to be more technically adept which would require a different skill set.
Although, if Partey could remain fit then he could be the midfielder with thrust and Guendouzi could then do the ball winning combative player to augment the midfield.
Ha-ha, yes! He’s got more than enough Guendouziasm!
Yea Right! And with his side passing and non progressive football he has scored a couple of goals from open play at Hertha. Thanx
Keep him in Hertha until the summer. During pre-season we’d be in a better position to assess technical and emotional status and take a decision on his future
no..sell in the summer
No way!
Let him stay until the summer. If he doesn’t extend, sell. If he does extend, give him Ceballos’ place in the squad.
A lot of Arsenal fans forget the amount of work Arteta has on his hands reviving Arsenal….Arsenal needed a culture change and players like Guendozi, Ozil and Saliba even got into disrespecting the Manager….The fact that Arsenal persisted with Arteta through this poor patch has set a good foundation for the club and destroyed player power in Arsenal…Guendozi must apologise to the Manager for disrespecting him before he should ever put on an Arsenal shirt again…If he stubbornly refuses as he did in the past, he must be sold ASAP!!! At least Ozil is going and going with player power from arsenal.
I would rather recall Denilson
Forget our opinions for now, is what I suggest – as they have no bearing on what WILL happen- which is WHAT MATTERS. What seems most probable to me is that nothing will change with him until the summer and ours will most likely be a very different midfield by then from those two dismal dopes, Xhaka and Elneny.
We will surely have a fit and firing Partey back as our lynchpin by then, with the two dopes gone elswhere by summer to inflict their damage on some other unsuspecting fool of a club(s).
My own take is that it is unlikely that MA will ever want Guendouzi back in any way, as his attitude towards being a decent and therefore a reliable person and player, frankly, stinks!
I see MA building , in the midst of great dificulties and unthinking fans unrest, a great and dynamic younger team with, importantly, the CORRECT attitude. Judged ONLY as a player with no other consideration, I also think Guendouzi has proved to be nothing out of the ordinary and a headless chicken , not given to putting the shape of the team before his own wants.
That type of player will not, IMO, ever be part of the team MA is looking to build. So I see no future for Guendouzi at Arsenal and am immensely pleased about that. He will fetch a decent sale fee though, based on his youth, and on that alone he has a value to us this summer.
If he is playing as well as suggested one of the top German sides may be tempted to buy him in the Summer window.At his next press conference an astute journalist(if there is such a thing) should ask Arteta for his views on how Guendousi is performing and when he is likely to return to Arsenal. The tenor of his response would help fans to judge whether the break in relations is temporary, or otherwise.On the sad death of Colin Bell, now there was a truly great player, and unlike Guendousi, he was a very humble man.RIP.
Looks like only you and I noticed, Grandad. It is about recognising “class” in opposition players, as well as your own.
Grandad , MANY ASTUTE JOURNOS HAVE BEN TRYING THAT TACTIC FOR MANY PAST YEARS AND ONLY VERY OCCASIONALLY DO THEY SUCCEED IN GETTING ANY MORE THAN DEFLECTING WAFFLE FROM EQUALLY WISED UP MANAGERS.
What I have observed so far with MA when questioned is how easily and naturally he gives that determined smile and a platitude or two but says, REALLY says, PRECISELY NOTHING OF IMPORT, FROM THE JOURNOS POINT OF VIEW.
He’s doing really well in Germany, Hertha may want to keep hold of him.
I hope not though, would love to see him in an Arsenal shirt again!
So here’s hoping he returns in the summer..
Leave him in Berlin until the summer. He will continue to grow and mature to come back a better player and a father now I was reading above so congrats to him.
If he comes back then we have a baller and if he doesnt want to we can make a few dollar on him and his form. Capt u21s & is only 20yrs old. Him and Partey could be a brilliant duo imo behind SmithRowe with Saka & Martinelli on either wing.
Same with Saliba & Dino to back up, or take their spots, in Holding, Mari & Gabriel. Teirney has LB his.
Yeah, me too! Can anyone think of some names?
No. Just sell in summer.
And we may finally make a profit off a sale for once too! Oh happy days!
Unless we sign another midfielder of course we should use him. We have the worst midfield at the moment, in Xhaka, Elneny and Ceballos ever seen at our great club. Xhaka is the hooligan who cost this club….not Guendouzi.
Guendouzi is a very talented player; remember last year against AVilla ,but sometimes you need someone who not only is talented but he must also have the right attitude towards the team and manager. …I. don’t think he is the kind of player who fits in to the team Arteta wants to build so that is why we should sell him and get someone else in
What was his disciplinary problem at arsenal? I remember things went south when he got in the face of the Brighton player that just injured our keeper needlessly by shoving him! I want players like that fighting for our team and not allowing us to get bullied or intimidated by other teams and there players
He was slagging off brighton players in that confrontation, about the fact he gets paid more than them, very disrespectful.
Pco he was flaunting how much he earns from Arsenal in the face of the opposition.He is a very arrogant and ignorant person who ‘s actions tarnished the image of our Club.He was dealt with in an appropriate manner and hopefully he will learn from the errors of his ways.
He is a budding talent no doubt, and age is on his side. But he doesn’t seem to be growing up – hoping he begins now that he’s become a parent.
I love his skill and input on the field, but not completely satisfied with him, added to the fact that he throws tantrums at any and everybody.
Until he shows evidence of growing up in the head, I doubt if I want him back to this club. Even now, all he does is to spite Arsenal or Arteta as his language and body language prove.
Sell him!! We need disciplined players.
No, leave him in Berlin, he wont play much if he came back this month, let him carry on improving and playing week in, week out, It will only increase his value, should we decide to sell him or he will be much improved to come back into the squad next season
I agree – reassess in the Summer. Maybe the baby will help him mature, because he was certainly a spoilt brat. Although his on-field spirit was missed he was not a creative midfielder. I have a theory that players with that hairstyle often look more flamboyant than they actually are.
The Brighton flare-up was not the sole cause of his exile, but merely the final straw. He badmouthed MA frequently and would never apologise, believing he could do as he wanted as he was already a world superstar. He was disruptive – generally unpopular in the squad, but still likely to make others think that if he got away with it, so could they.
He needs to apologise to MA publicly on his return and show he has changed, then I would love to keep him. I’m not holding my breath though…
If he were to come back
Should Arsenal recall him? Probably not, he is flourishing at Hertha, being appreciated and playing very well apparently. It has been said his attitude is fantastic and only good words being said about him. Let him continue at Berlin and come back a better player all round, if he comes back too soon, that may not be the case.
Needs more experience.
Right now, holds onto the ball too long, positionally weak, to slow.
Sell him to highest bidder in the summer.
Arteta is getting rid of the deadwood and trouble makers including Guendouzi and the sooner the better.
There are many good midfielders we just have to be patiant and trust Artetas judgement.
Bring him back instead of Ceballos
Bring he back is the best thing to do right now, because we have nobody to play that midfield more than him.
Guendouzi! Please write about current arsenal talent like Azeez and Taylor-Hart. Brilliant youngsters who love the club and have to be patient just to get a sniff. Not Guendouzi who had to much too soon. Funny how no PL teams came in for him. He epitomised the crazy football period under UE and his stats were awful.
please we need Aouar Coche Arteta