Out-of-favour Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has informally requested a transfer away from the club, according to L’Equipe (translated by TribalFootball).
The French midfielder has fallen way down Mikel Arteta’s pecking order after a heavily publicised argument with Brighton striker Neal Maupay, after Guendouzi’s fellow Frenchman caused a serious injury to Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno at the tail-end of the 2019/20 season.
The French international has failed to feature in any form for the Gunners in the current season thus far and now appears to be looking to force a move away from the Emirates. The player has since verbally informed the Arsenal hierarchy of his desire to leave the club ahead of the end of the current summer transfer window.
A number of European giants from France, Spain and Italy are rumoured to be interested in securing the mobile midfielder’s services, though no official bids or enquiries have been lodged with Arsenal.
Speaking of Guendouzi’s current situation, Arteta said:
Matteo has been training like any other player in the squad. It is a new season and we had some really positive conversations between both parties, now he’s back with the group, he is training really well, he went to France to play with the under-21s last week and played really well again, and he is here.
Arteta spoke coyly and reservedly over Matteo’s future, however. He added:
I don’t know [if he will leave], I am not going to discuss here what the things that happened internally. But a lot of the things they have been writing, I can tell you they are not true.
Read Arsenal Verdict
A strong degree of uncertainty remains for the Gunners over Guendouzi. Arsenal had explored the possibility of using Guendouzi as a makeweight in a deal with Lyon for top target Houssem Aouar but were swiftly rebuffed.
If Guendouzi is not in Arteta’s plans, it makes sense that he’d request a move away and if the price is right, Arsenal should cash in on him as he’s a sellable asset who could generate a fee that could be used to bring in players who Arteta intends to give game time too.
