After his appointment as the head coach of Arsenal, Unai Emery has been busy in making the required changes to construct a side capable enough to compete for trophies in the near future. Emery has made some tough calls already, which includes giving his consent to allow Jack Wilshere to leave the Emirates Stadium and has completed the signing of five players to beef up his armoury.
Having added defenders Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos, goalkeeper Bernd Leno, midfielder Lucas Torreira, Emery recently concluded the acquisition of dazzling French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi from Lorient for a fee which is believed to be worth around £7million. Unlike the four other signings who have been signed as quick fixes to address the urgent weaknesses, Guendouzi is the one who has been roped in with an eye on the future.
Guendouzi emerged through the youth ranks of Paris Saint-Germain and Lorient and after making a mark in the Lorient B side, he was promoted to their first team squad eventually. Last season, the French Under-20 player plied his trade as a defensive midfielder and made 21 appearances across all competitions to help his former side finish at the 7th spot in the league standings of Ligue 2.
The Gunners boast of a star-studded offensive arsenal, with the likes of Mesut Ozil, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in their ranks. However, during the latter part of Arsene Wenger’s tenure, the Premier League outfit’s defensive frailties were exposed time and again and unarguably, this was one of the major reasons for their inability to compete for the major trophies.
Signing a player like Torreira is a massive move by the former PSG boss as the Uruguayan international can be used alongside Granit Xhaka to cushion the back line. Meanwhile, a youngster like Guendouzi will be a stupendous option from the bench as he needs to acclimatize himself with the animosity that the English top flight offers. He has lots of potential and he needs to keep his trajectory of development in the ascendency.
The 19-year-old tries to keep it simple in the middle of the park and is an excellent passer of the ball. He looked confident and assured last season and has the know-how to knit the side together as a unit. He is well-built and has the hunger to thrive and no wonder his stocks are highly rated. The demand from him at Arsenal will be huge and it will be intriguing to see whether he can keep his composure and develop further in the coming seasons or gets shunted into oblivion in the face of expectations and the scrutiny.