Arsenal Vs Manchester City: Matteo Guendouzi youthful and promising

Arsenal opened the Premier League season with a 2-0 loss to Manchester City. At the heart of it all was Matteo Guendouzi. He showed his youth at times, but, largely, this was a promising senior debut for the 19-year-old.

Making your first-team debut on the opening day of the season, in a league that you have never played in, in a country that is alien, after only ever experiencing second-division-level football in your career, in central midfield, the most intense and competitive position, in front of 60,000 baying fans, is not easy. Doing it against the best team in Premier League history is nigh on impossible.

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That is what Matteo Guendouzi, a fresh-faced, manic-haired 19-year-old did on Sunday afternoon as Unai Emery chose to anchor his Arsenal midfield with the Frenchman against Pep Guardiola’s brilliant Manchester City.

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The 2-0 loss was consummate for the champions. They were never really in any trouble, holding their hosts at arm’s length throughout the contest. There are many questions for Emery to answer in the coming weeks and he will have seen the distance he and this team have to make up if they want to be challenging for the Premier League title. But one positive to come from the performance was Guendouzi.

There were moments where his youthful inexperience came to the fore. He allowed Raheem Sterling to swerve past him far too easily for the first goal; he let Sergio Aguero in on goal in the second half when he misjudged a high ball that was cleared by City from an attacking set-piece. But that is to be expected from a player of his age. There may have been instances of his youth shining through, but they did not ruin what was a very promising display.

His energy and industry in the midfield were especially pleasing. He is far more mobile than Granit Xhaka, his midfield partner, who was, it should be noted, rescinded for Lucas Torreira rather than Guendouzi midway through the second half, was snappy and aggressive in his tackling, made four tackles, four interceptions and two blocks, and had more touches than any other Arsenal player on the pitch.

But more than just showing heart and effort, Guendouzi expressed great quality on the ball. His passing range was excellent, he looked to play through the City lines, trying to find the feet of his teammates in more attacking positions, and was more than willing to switch the play with long, raking passes that cut out the disciplined City shape.

His play deep in his own half far outweighed Xhaka’s contributions in the same role. He was the conductor of the Arsenal play in possession, happy to drop into the defence to receive the ball, being brave enough to take on the mantle of playing forward even when under pressure, and looked to play, rather than shirking his responsibility, which would have been very easy for a 19-year-old to do on his debut.

This was not the perfect performance from Guendouzi. It was never going to be. But even with the moments of error and youthful exuberance and naivety, this was a very promising outing for the £7 million new signing. I am very much looking forward to what else he has to offer this season.