Midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi leaves Arsenal permanently, joins Olympique Marseille

Mattéo Guendouzi leaves Arsenal permanently to join Olympique Marseille on a 3-year deal.

Midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi joins Olympique Marseille permanently after an impressive loan spell at the French side. He joined the Les Olympiens last summer after an unsuccessful loan spell at Hertha Berlin.

The French 22-year-old is currently with Marseille on a season-long loan deal, and although his Arsenal contract isn’t due to expire until 2023 – he will join the Olympiens permanently this summer after meeting the loan clause of playing 38 games. In the 38 games, he scored three goals and provided eight assists in Ligue 1.

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Guendouzi joined Arsenal as a 19-year-old in July 2018 for a fee of around 8 million euros, instantly becoming a favourite under Unai Emery and emerging as a potential young star in his first season. His time at The Emirates hit a rocky road under new boss Mikel Arteta when he obtained the reputation of an outcast and has not started for them since a 2-1 defeat to Brighton in June 2020.

After a series of issues over his attitude and conduct, he has been left out of Arteta’s squad. He, therefore, spent last season on loan at Hertha Berlin but struggled to produce good performances. He joined Marseille last summer, to restart his career. Guendouzi has impressed his home country and will now look to continue his good form as he joins permanently.

He surely will not miss The Gunners as they failed to utilize his talent. But The Gunners will need to look for replacements to add more depth to their midfield.