Matteo Guendouzi has claimed that he is an Arsenal player after talks emerged last week linking the player with an exit from the club.
Reports from Football Insider insinuated the £22.5m-rated France youth international had played his last game for the Gunners and that he was due to be sold after his return from Hertha Berlin.
However, in an interview with France Football, the youngster proclaimed he will everything for the Gunenrs shirt ahead of a return to the club at the end of this season.
Guendouzi said: “I am still an Arsenal player. This summer will be a decisive moment. From the moment that I am playing for Arsenal, I will give everything for this club, the fans, the team, for the staff. I will work hard for the shirt as I have always done.”
Should Arsenal let Guendouzi leave on a permanent deal next summer?
Yes
No
Mentality is a big thing and with the Frenchman having shown off his lack thereof last season, he was shipped off to the Bundesliga. However, everyone can change and his comments suggest that the midfielder may be growing both on and off the pitch in what has been a testing loan spell with the Berlin-based outfit.
The German team sit in the relegation play-off place having won just five of their 25 league games this season in what has been a brutal year for the side.
You feel as if the brutal reality of joining sides inferior to Arsenal may have opened the 21-year-old’s eye in terms of what lies on the other side should he be pushed out the door in north London. The grass isn’t always greener on the other side especially if you’ve built up a reputation for being a nuisance on and off the pitch.
However, should the ace be willing to knuckle down and do the hard graft he can shine under the management of Arteta, who has shown how he can transform the fortunes of players, like Granit Xhaka.
It would be a shame to lose a talented player like Guendouzi, however, I back the former Manchester City coach wholeheartedly on making a judgement on whether the star has changed his attitude.
In other news, Arteta’s slow integration of ace is part of a long-term process.
