Arsenal brought in midfielder Matteo Guendouzi from Ligue 2 side FC Lorient in the summer of 2018 but this season, he has not been able to win the trust of Mikel Arteta.
The 21-year-old did make a good start to his time in England under Unai Emery but once Arteta took over, the youngster has really struggled to up his levels at the Emirates.
And according to former Gunners striker Jeremie Aliadiere, the Frenchman should grow up if he wishes to remain at Arsenal for years to come.
“Listen, I’m a big fan of the guy,” Aliadiere told Goal. “He’s like my little brother and I always told him that Arsenal would be a very good team for his development as a player and as a human being.
“He took my advice and came to the club, but I just feel Matteo hasn’t grown up as a human being yet. He’s grown up as a player, he’s matured massively as a player and every year he gets better.
“But unfortunately as a man, he hasn’t grown and matured as much as I thought he would by joining Arsenal.
“I think that’s what he’s missing and that’s why he’s not playing as much under Mikel [Arteta] because Mikel is not really up for that.
“He wants players who are going to do a job for the team and do what they ask him to do. If they are not happy to do that, then he will have someone else do it for him.”
Should Matteo Guendouzi be sold?
During the 2019-20 season, Matteo Guendouzi has managed to play in just 22 Premier League matches failing to score even a single goal. And to be honest, if Mikel Arteta can manage to bring in someone like Thomas Partey in the summer, there’s no way the Frenchman will have a future at Arsenal.
Guendouzi looked all set to be the next big thing at Arsenal but unfortunately, the player’s form has been on a steady decline over the past year.
And last year, even Jose Mourinho had claimed that despite being a talented lad, Matteo Guendouzi had a few issues that need to be sorted out.
The current Spurs boss had said: “Sometimes when I watch matches I am a bit critical – in a good sense, on the coaching side of it – because sometimes I think Guendouzi plays too easy and too many square passes when he can look forward.
“His first control normally is immediately for a sideways pass. He played a good game today and this is a great example of what he can do, because he’s a kid with talent.”
TransferMarkt currently values the 21-year-old at €40.5 million and maybe this is the perfect time to cash in on him and use that money elsewhere.
