Arsenal Loan Star Dazzles Club Officials

Arsenal are, rightly, worrying about north London.

While players out on loan are still of interest, it’s those at Mikel Arteta‘s disposal who garner the most attention. It won’t be easy for the Arsenal boss to overlook what’s taking place elsewhere though, with one name gaining plenty of praise over in Germany.

Cast out of the Arsenal team after the Spaniard grew tired of his petulance and ill-discipline, Matteo Guendouzi was gratefully shipped out of north London to whomever fancied taking him off the club’s hands.

Countless failed efforts to include him as part of swap deals or just as a makeweight in other transfers, with the asking price dropping and interest dissipating, a season-long loan move to Hertha Berlin had to suffice.

The German side aren’t having the best of times over in the Bundesliga, finishing tenth last season despite a hefty transfer outlay, with their fortunes not indifferent this term as they sit 12th with 13 goals conceded in just seven league outings.

Having contracted Covid-19 shortly after joining the club, Guendouzi has been limited to just two outings in the German capital, one coming from the start. However, Hertha have secured four points from those fixtures with the Frenchman putting in an impressive first 123 minutes of action.

So much so, Hertha’s sporting director Michael Preetz, speaking in Kicker magazine, has hinted they may even be tempted to make the deal permanent in the summer.

"“Three months ago, Matteo’s loan signing wasn’t possible, but it was at the beginning of October. We are happy that he is here and that he enriched our game from the start. We’ll see everything else next summer.“How the prices will develop by then and what Arsenal are planning then, nobody can say today.”"

There is no formal option to sign Guendouzi permanently when his temporary deal expires, as much as Arsenal would have liked.

Originally asking for in the region of £30m for the midfielder, those estimations dropped. However, with such high praise from his current employers, we can expect (and hope) that figure to steadily climb back up to where Arsenal would prefer it to be.

Is there a spot in the team waiting for Guendouzi next season? Highly unlikely, even if he does hit top form in Germany. Asset-wise, him playing well will simply mean greater scope for a welcome financial injection.