Matteo Guendouzi has revealed Marseille only need to remain in Ligue 1 to activate their option for a permanent transfer of the Arsenal midfielder, via quotes by Foot Mercato.
The Frenchman left the Emirates Stadium on a year-long loan in July that Sky Sports noted included a purchase clause. But the Gunners and OM agreed that the option would only be available should he meet certain conditions during his temporary stay in southern France.
It was not claimed at the time of Guendouzi’s arrival in Marseille what criteria the Arsenal outcast needed to meet. Foot Mercato also noted last month the clause is worth £9.5m, slightly more than the £8m the Gunners paid FC Lorient for the £40k-a-week ace in 2018.
Guendouzi was a favourite of Unai Emery following his arrival in north London. He made 66 appearances under the Spaniard, but has so far only featured 12 times under Mikel Arteta.
The 22-year-old made his 82nd and last Gunners outing in June 2020, before joining Hertha Berlin on loan last term. Guendouzi now has no aims of playing an 83rd fixture for Arsenal, with the one-cap midfielder focused on Marseille and sealing a permanent transfer in 2022.
“[The purchase clause] is if the club stays in Ligue 1 that I will stay at OM,” Guendouzi said. “I am going for the long-term, it has been carefully considered. It is not just for this year, but for the rest of my career. I want to stay here for the long-term.”
Guendouzi explains why he left Arsenal for Marseille in summer loan transfer
Guendouzi has previously described his decision to join Marseille on loan from Arsenal in the last transfer as the best decision of his career. He remains adamant on that view, and believes life at the Stade Velodrome will present the opportunities to demonstrate why.
“It was a carefully considered choice to come to OM,” he added. “This is the best choice I made in a long time. I have fun on and off the pitch. I knew that with the project that is being built I was going to be important. That’s why I decided to come.
“I have a superb understanding with the people, the coach, the players, the people who work at the club. I have a lot of fun and I intend to register for the long-term at OM.
“With the first discussions, I saw that the project was very interesting, a project for me. I knew I wanted to come to OM, I will continue to grow and be able to win, I want to win with OM. I chose to come here, I made a lot of progress with the coach.”
Guendouzi has so far played 24 games for Marseille during his loan transfer from Arsenal. He made his latest outing in their Coup de France win over Cannet on Sunday. The Poissy-born technician also opened OM’s abandoned Ligue 1 meeting with Lyon last month.
He will look to register his 25th outing and 16th official start from 18 Ligue 1 games when OM host Stade de Reims on Wednesday. They can strengthen their place in second, albeit 13-points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain already, by taking the win in midweek.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
