Arsenal handed Matteo Guendouzi escape route at Marseille

Matteo Guendouzi will leave Arsenal in the summer transfer window, of this there is no doubt. The club have made their decision and it’s just a matter of extracting as much value as they can from the midfielder. Marseille have offered an option.

A trend throughout Arsenal’s modern history is their failed loan departures. Up until the current campaign rarely ever did a player leave the club temporarily and come back transformed, ready to fight his way back into starting contention.

This season there are three who have new opportunities to wrestle their way back into first team football in north London, albeit only one certain to be given playing time, and that person is not Matteo Guendouzi.

The midfielder’s time with Hertha Berlin has still proven to be a success in reshaping his profile across Europe. His form had dipped slightly during the middle part of his loan as the usual concerns arose, but a strong end to the season has prompted Marseille to make moves to sign the 22-year-old.

Arsenal handed Matteo Guendouzi escape route as Marseille eye deal in summer transfer window

He suffered a blow at the end of the campaign by sustaining a broken metatarsal, one that will leave him out of action for up to nine weeks, yet fortunately for Arsenal that hasn’t deterred potential buyers.

L’Equipe first reported of the Ligue 1 club’s interest, which has since been followed up by local outlet La Provence OM.

His departure will arrive over the summer and all that remains for Edu and co is to extract every last penny they can from his value. What will be of concern is that French sides are in the midst of their own financial struggles, both from the TV licensing deal collapsing and the coronavirus pandemic, meaning they won’t have mounds of cash to be splashing.

Marseille may also miss out on Europa League qualification which will impact their finances further.

With one year left on his deal and with the player sales pivotal to everything Arsenal want to do in the summer window, their previous valuation around the £30m mark can be well and truly laughed at. If Marseille come in with £10m, it would be hard for the club to turn their nose away, even if they’d ideally like a number closer to £15m.

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