Arsenal Confirm Departure Of Matteo Guendouzi

Arsenal have today confirmed the departure of Matteo Guendouzi, who heads to Marseille on a permanent deal.

The midfielder joined the French club on loan at the start of last season.

The deal including an obligatory purchase clause should Guendouzi make a number of appearances, this clause was met.

The fee is believed to be in the region of £9.5m.

Arsenal confirmed the news with the following statement:

"As part of the agreement with Marseille, Matteo has made his move permanent after spending 2021/22 on loan with the Ligue 1 club, during which time he became an integral part of their side, making 56 appearances in all competitions during the campaign."

"The 23-year-old previously spent the 2020/21 season on loan in the German Bundesliga with Hertha Berlin, where he made 24 appearances."

"Matteo started his career at Paris Saint-Germain’s academy before joining Lorient in 2014 and regularly represented his country at youth level from under-18s through to the under-21s."

"He joined us from Lorient in summer 2018, making 82 appearances across two seasons."

"Everyone at Arsenal thanks Matteo for his contribution during his time with us and wish him all the best in this next chapter of his career."

"The transfer is subject to the completion of regulatory processes."

The Frenchman had looked set to be a star in Arsenal colours.

He starred under Unai Emery, often single-handedly changing games by himself and was loved by the fans.

He was incredibly fiery and seemingly would do anything for the team, leading many to believe he would go on to be Arsenal captain.

A perfect example was the rugby tackle Guendouzi delivered in the late stages of a game against Crystal Palace, on Wilfried Zaha as he looked to be in on goal.

However when Mikel Arteta arrived, problems started to arise.

Attitude issues behind the scenes were reported and when Guendouzi looked to have throttled Brighton striker Neil Maupay at the full time whistle of Arsenal's first post Covid-19 break game, Arteta drew the line.

Guendouzi was loaned out the next Summer and his Arsenal career ended.

The midfielder is Arsenal's second first team sale of the Summer, Dinos Mavrapanos being the first.