Arsenal: Selling Matteo Guendouzi shows need to buy young

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly pursuing Matteo Guendouzi for around £60 million. While selling would be pointless, it shows the need for Arsenal to buy young.

When Arsenal signed Matteo Guendouzi, a scraggly-haired, 19-year-old kid from France who no one had heard of before, expectations were low. The £6 million price tag implied that they genuinely believed in his talent. And in his first season at the club, that belief has been vindicated.

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Guendouzi has been phenomenal. Playing with a fragrant, youthful exuberance that endeared him to the fans from day one, the Frenchman’s range of passing as wide as grizzly, wry smile when he’s been unceremoniously dumped on the floor by a straggling opponent, his gritted determination, and infectious attitude have shone in almost every showing.

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It is now widely believed that Guendouzi will graduate into one of the key players of the Unai Emery era in north London. He is seen as one of the central pieces of the puzzle. But that has not stopped the elite clubs in Europe from sniffing around his future, even if he has only spent one year at the Emirates. According to some media reports this week, Paris Saint-Germain are interested in signing Guendouzi this summer.

I must say, I don’t really believe these rumours. A former club coming back in for a player that they sold just months prior seems odd. It seems even odder when the alleged £60 million price tag is mentioned. Nevertheless, the story does provide a glimpse into what Arsenal should be looking to do with their transfer business in the future.

While selling Guendouzi is simply not an option this summer, such is his talent and the need for investment on a limited budget at other positions in the squad, the fact that the Gunners could get £60 million for his services shows the resale value that acquiring young players offers.

Selling for high prices is how the likes of Liverpool and Spurs have cleverly built their squads. It is something that Arsenal have struggled with for years, whether it be because of mismanagement, signing mediocre players that decline in performance, or allow contracts to run down. But adding players like Guendouzi to the team shows the ability to sell and then re-invest smartly.

Signing the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, and Sokratis is all well and good for a short-term fix, but it only helps the team so much or for so long. Eventually, more spending is again required. The vicious cycle drains the club’s resources. Signing young, however, not only brings quality players to the club, but also offers the chance to sell them for major profit.

Arsenal will not sell Guendouzi this summer. There is no reason to fear that. And I am most certainly advocating it. But the fact that they could sell him for a 10 times profit is proof of the need to buy young.