Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Report: Marseille make loan approach for Matteo Guendouzi

According to a report from FootMercato (FR), Marseille have made an approach to Arsenal to loan Matteo Guendouzi.

The midfielder has been out of favour since the Brighton game back in June, and although he’s been welcomed back to full training with the rest of his teammates, he has yet to feature this season.

It’s reported that the French side have set their sites on the 21 year old to boost their squad having first contacted the club, and subsequently the player and his representatives to sell the move to him.

The website – whose Twitter account is followed by Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – say that there has been interest in Guendouzi from Villarreal (managed now by Unai Emery, of course); Valencia; Hertha Berlin; Real Betis; and Sevilla. The player has, apparently, failed to ‘follow up’ on any of those approaches.

It’s known that Arsenal are willing to let Guendouzi go, but as the deadline approaches it remains to be seen how far we are willing to compromise. Ideally, the deal would be permanent with a transfer fee coming our way, but these days even loan fees are not insubstantial and could boost the coffers to help further incomings.

A loan with an obligation to purchase at the end of it – in the hope that next summer things might have returned to something approaching normal – might also be an option.

Arsenal take on Liverpool in the Carabao Cup tomorrow night, and with a tough fixture against Sheffield United on Sunday, the team at Anfield is likely to include a lot of ‘fringe’ players.

Guendouzi’s involvement, or otherwise, might well be telling.

Read today’s Arseblog: Arsenal have 6 days to sort out the midfield.

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Pune Gooner

It’s really surprising no one went for Guendouzi, if he was a player from other team we would had been craving for him.

He is still a massive talent and can also become world class subject to attitude.

Still hoping he can play with us. A loan deal wont be bad.

Waschmittel

I hope many Arsenal fans see the light that he is just another average player. We hyped him up because he looked good in a chaotic system but if you can’t play with structure, you are not gonna make it with any top side. Literally why no big club wants him

Pau

Structure to defend and play on the counter every single game. Boring analysis.

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

Structure destroyed lot of talents in football. What is structure anyway?

Frank Bascombe

Seriously?

gooner

I totally disagree on just another average player. Not many average players have what he’s had at his age and call ups to the France national team on merit. I know he hasn’t got a cap but that’s not arsenal fans hyping him. His attitude stinks and looks like the warnings were there from Lorient when we signed him but we ignored the noise as excited fans. What he has is lots of potential and I believe the financial situation globally coupled with his attitude are making it hard. Interested clubs know how desperate we are to get rid of… Read more »

mjc1892

What are you basing him being able to become world class on, just out of interest?

Pune Gooner

He is in top 5 under 21 midfielders and his transfer price is 35m £

Berlingoon

The fact that he looked quite good in central midfield in the PL at the age of 19 and that he captains the french U21 are two indicators that would suggest that, I guess.

mjc1892

I saw nothing when he played for us beyond an average to poor passer with poor defensive awareness and no real offensive contribution to speak of but a willingness to run around a lot. Flattered to deceive in my opinion. But each to their own!

Johnny 4 Hats

I think he had a knack of running forward at a time when none of our midfielders had the balls to. We were struggling massively under Emery and I do remember him taking the game by the scruff of the neck a fair few times which was impressive for his age. Let’s be honest, it’s really hard to tell at this stage in his career. Pep bangs on about Phil Foden being the best young player he’s ever coached but I’ve seen little or nothing that makes me too excited about him. A lot of being a young player is… Read more »

mjc1892

Yeah I agree, reminds me a bit of Vermaelen’s arrival. Flattered to deceive at a time when we had a real dearth of centre backs and scored a few screamers which somewhat blinded people to his actual- or lack thereof- defensive ability.

Non-flying dutchman

including Barcelona

Non-flying dutchman

it doesnt work if you say our Aouar – the Aouar is meant to replace the our

Berlingoon

that’s why you’re writing comments on the internet while people who think differently about him manage football clubs.

loose_cannon

TBF Guendouzi could be commenting on here right now, for all the football he’s been playing lately. And Arteta and his previous coach at Lorient have both publicly said what they think of him, and it’s not good.

mjc1892

All the people that are falling over themselves to make offers for him or our manager who’s playing him week in week o- oh.. Not the best line of argument there my friend. Not sure why you’re taking it so personally, I’d love him to prove me wrong, just think he’s bang average.

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

So why is it that we never heard any fan call him bang average until we heard about the discipline problems? Arteta has been impressing as a coach but it doesn’t mean we have to support everything he does blindly.

mjc1892

Well me and all the other season ticket holders that sit around me in east upper certainly did. There were audible groans whenever he flopped onto the floor looking for a non-existent free kick long before Arteta took over. Just because it’s not on this blog does not mean it consitutes the opinion of the entire Arsenal fan base. And just because its not yours does not make it wrong. I’d cheer Guendouzi if I were in the stadium and he came on- doesnt mean I have to agree he’s any good.

Pau

This is what some people can easily mix up. I totally agree with you.

Jeff

I agree with this. I don’t think he had great dribbling ability, shooting ability, or great vision. Nowhere near as promising as a young Wilshere or even Ceballos. He looked like an average player that we would see on an Anderlecht in a random Europa League game

SB Still

Golden boy shortlist as well

Syed

Jack Wilshere

Robert H

Yeah, this comment section is always way too hard on Guendouzi from a talent point of view. The amount of teenagers who have good seasons in the PL in CM every year can be counted on one hand. He had very strong passing and ball progression numbers. Shame he isn’t mature enough mentally.

ArseHobbit

No-one apart from “Villarreal…; Valencia; Hertha Berlin; Real Betis; and Sevilla.”

Says everything that he thinks he’s above all of those suitors, if anyhting I think it flatters him because he’s not proven anything on a consistent basis (other than his ability to be a bit of an arse).

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

Can you say two things he did wrong that you witnessed?

DB10s airmiles

Witnessed! Brilliant response, made me laugh….. A lot.

OnlyBeingHonest

Good player, colossal Bell end

Neil

Living abroad, I have few chances to watch matches. I understand Guendouzi had a clash with the manager, but I don’t quite understand what he did wrong. Out of curiosity, what happened?

Biggles

It must be something because he’s certainly at the top of the most unwanted players list (and there are quite a few Arsenal players on that list if our failure to offload them so far is anything to go by). Anyway, a loan is the best we’re likely to get so ship him out pdq!

loose_cannon

It appears that no one wants to take the risk on a young player with a very temperamental attitude and a questionable skillset. It’s not just that he could be a disruptive influence, it’s an open question about where he fits in most teams. He’s not good enough defensively to be a 6, but not really creative enough to be an 8.

Pat Fried Rice with Egg

I appreciate the fact that he tried the hardest in an Emery team that was absolutely gutless. He’s willing, I’ll give him that, but will alone is not good enough for this club.

Nairo254gunna

Nobody would want a player whose discipline has been publicly addressed by his current club which subsequently went on to ostracise him from the 1st team. I think how we handled this matter had a lot in determining his demand in the market and I hope it is a lesson Arteta learns quickly.

Eeleen

For Guen I think that loan even without option to buy is ok result. He is young, if all goes well may show his worth and next summer maybe someone has some money to buy him. He is the worst tye of player to sell this summer. Risky for buying club and everyone knows we want to get rid of him. Same time young, has some potential, so giving him up for cheap permanently might not be too wise.

Toure Motors

A decent loan fee would be acceptable here, it doesn’t look like he’ll have any part to play this season at a minimum

Niran

I think a loan offer would be best for Guendouzi at this stage, the transfer deadline is getting closer, I doubt there is enough time to discuss and close a permanent deal for him…he seems to have damaged his market value so much in the past 3 months…this time last summer Guendouzi would not have gone for anything less than £35m…Let’s loan him to a club where he has a realistic chance of breaking into the starting 11, that way he builds his market value again…Marseille to me, is the best choice for him, if he really wants to get… Read more »

Sean

Yea, spot on. Not even going to make a fresh comment because you’ve taken the words right out of my mouth. Yes we all know he’s a prick but the potential is there. Ideally would want him to go to a more competitive league like La Liga so he can really put himself in the shop window and make other clubs take notice. Surprised he wasn’t keen on joining back up with Emery

Rens

If nobody wants to buy him right now, sendhing him out on loan would be great. At least we get something in return, I don’t see him returning to the match day squad.

K-Gooner

Actually, this makes sense. Let him go out on a loan. A year later, you never know! LANS!

Artitty

So long, Matty boy

Shool14

I think our best option right now is to extend his contract by a year (will expire in 2 years as of now) and then send him on a loan. That way we can hope to get a decent fee next summer

Roof_attack

good idea , but i cant see him being willing to extend his contract in the current circumstances.

OldGooner

Better still, extended his contract by 3 years and put him on £350k per week and leave him at home. The Arsenal way.

Brian

Letting both Guendouzi and Torreira (both young players) leave during the same transfer window is bad business.

Guendouzi may have discipline issues but we all need such players in a team especially when there is potential. I still do believe it will be another Gnabry story unveiling itself on these transfers.

Dave cee

I don’t. Gnabry was obviously a class player, Gwen simply isn’t. He may become a very good player if he listens to his coaches and follows instructions, but he hasn’t shown much so far. Saying all that I would be ok with a loan move if it garners a decent fee. It doesn’t look like we will get a great fee for him this summer even if we do move him on permanently, so it can’t do a lot of harm but it could potentially showcase his ability and bring in good offers next summer. His Arsenal goose would appear… Read more »

Eternal Titi Berg Pat Nostalgia

All you’re doing is to justify whatever Arteta does.

Robert H

Guendouzi had considerably more strong performances for Arsenal than Gnabry and its not even close.

Papa Large, big shot in North London

Disagree. Without knowing exactly what went down it seems like he let his ego get ahead of the team. Unless he is single handedly winning us matches regularly there is no room for that. I’d suggest an apology and hard work would re-open the door, he chose to chuck his toys out of the pram by the sounds.

CorporateMan

Why do we always find it so difficult to flog out our unwanted players? When we do, it’s at ridiculous values. Chelsea pay 23m for a keeper from the French Ligue while we sell a homeqrown, PL-tested keeper for 17m to Aston Villa! But when we want to buy, we get quoted huge figures for barely above- average players. See the number of players we want to ship out, but nobody is interested! We sell Greenwood to Leeds for 3m and he is banging in the goals Liverpool are reluctant to accept 17m for Brewster while clubs are offering peanuts… Read more »

Ash

I hear you, but I think all those situations whilst appearing similar are slightly different. Brewster has some appearances for the (former) European champions and English champions, whilst Balogun hasn’t made an appearance for a transitional Arsenal team. Greenwood again hasn’t had an appearance. These things make a difference. The Martinez and Mendy thing I grant you is bonkers, but Chelsea wasting money is possibly not the best measure of the market.

Roof_attack

I think the answer is in the question : Chelsea will always pay over the odds for most of their players. we can only sell to teams who want to buy our players, and most of our players are not good enough for the top end of the prem. plus most of our dead wood are on wages way above their skillset , so that drives down the transfer fees to subsidise wages. we are reaping what we sowed (sewn?) over the last 5 years. I’m sure it will all work out fine though!

Avi

Chelsea will over pay, yes. But they also have clubs over pay for players they sell. And they’re not the only club who get 10xs the value of players they’re selling while Arsenal consistently get paid below market value for players. There’s something wrong with the way this club negotiates contracts and fees.

John C

Chelsea don’t over pay, they just work out the value of a player by other means than just the price. When Chelsea buy a player the questions they ask and the priority in which they ask them seem to be completely the opposite to how Arsenal have gone about their business the last decade or so. Chelsea recognise the business they’re in and their position in the footballing food chain, which like Arsenal, is at the top and purchase accordingly. The number of clubs that have greater resources than either club can be counted on the fingers of both hands.… Read more »

John C

The key, as i’ve said a million times is to focus on quality not price. Why are we looking at barely above average players anyway?

We plead poverty when we’ve been in the top 5-10 richest club in the world for the last 20 years.

It’s a false economy to buy the Mustafi’s and Xhaka’s of this world for £35m when the very best is £15-20m more. The cost of being out of the champions league has dwarfed the difference in cost, it doesn’t make any sense.

Kostas

Great comment.
We have signed so many overpriced average players.
We failed to renew assets and we allowed to go for free.
We have recruited without a plan or cohesion and sold with abysmal values.

Lets turn a page starting this window!
Coyg

Matthinc

What’s astonished me is the incredible business Liverpool have done. We need to get their negotiating team! I know they’re champions so players really want to go there, but surely there’s a premium too.

punter

I can see him prospering at Villareal. Guendouzi just needs a manager who will tolerate him..a bit like Eric Cantona.

Frank Bascombe

Except Cantona was an undoubted talent.

Alex

Monumental bellend.

Even if he becomes the next Carlos Valderrama, I wont regret his departure

Nacho de Montreal is tasty

You staunchly support the other bellend and it is well known.

Red Arrow

I think Gendouzi showed a lot of confidence for someone his age and has a lot of potential if he can sort out his attitude problems.

Fatgooner

This looks like a good move for both Guendouzi and the club. It’s time for us to part company.

Guendouzi is a decent player but his attitude clearly stinks. He probably needs someone to get hold of him and and knock some discipline into his well-coiffed head. With the right handling he could develop into a top footballer.

I hope this loan goes through.

jw1

Pretty sure Arteta is the epitome of a ‘someone’ you are referring to. It didn’t take.

I was one who was excited at his arrival. Au revoir Matteo.

Pau

To me he wasn’t that someone actually, hence this, and it’s not a criticism of MA. Maybe Unai or someone else would.

Twatsloch

I agree. Arteta comes across as the type who’ll support his blokes all the way but only if they do their bit. Step out of line and you’ll be given the chance to fall back in but if not then that’s that. Arteta is no pushover.

Guendouzi is where he is now for not taking the opportunity when it was given and he’s a fool for doing that.

Biggles

You’re right. If only all the other clubs everywhere didn’t know that his attitude stinks we could have offloaded him long before now. Possibly Marseille neither know nor care, dismissing it with a Gallic shrug of the shoulders as they put pen to paper on the loan deal. Here’s hoping.

Biggles

It looks almost impossible to sell him – and reading the reports, Arsenal have certainly tried either as an outright sale or as a makeweight in another transfer. A loan is the only alternative if that’s the case. The good news, of sorts, is that we “only” paid around £7million for him so he’s not in the “complete waste of money league” like, say, Mustafi at £35million (money no object then, eh).

jw1

What time does the Uber need to be at his place?

Cobwebs

He was far from the worst player during Energy days. He tried hard and didn’t looked scared in the way that many did . Perhaps the other side of that spirited coin is the ability to row with the manager and then be stubborn.
Given our current midfield resources I don’t think he should leave until we’ve secured something better coming in.

Santori

Loan is a sensible move. As I mentioned, the whole Arteta selling him thing seemed like poor management. He is a young and very talented player and under healthy contract with us. Sure he is impudent and slightly impatient so a loan move will either increase his value should he do well or should he find it hard going to feature, it will also chasten him somewhat and we can make a better decision in a season down. Particularly at the moment where it looks like we will more likely only add one more in midfield plus with BOTH Granit… Read more »

Teryima Adi

I thought he wanted to play for Barca or Juve?

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