Unai Emery is desperate to work with Arsenal outcast Matteo Guendouzi again at Villarreal but, according to the Sun (19 August, page 52) his £30 million price-tag represents a sizeable stumbling block.
Talk about being thrown in at the deep end.
Emery raised plenty of eyebrows in North London a little-known, poodle-haired 18-year-old made Premier League debut on the opening game of the 2018/19 season, the Gunners boss handing Guendouzi a shock start in the middle of midfield against none other than Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
While Arsenal were given a footballing lesson by a rampant City side, the former Lorient starlet was on the lips of each and every Gunners fan at the final whistle.
Against arguably the most feared team in Europe, produced a performance full of confidence, class and composure, strolling through the game like a seasoned veteran rather than a teenager who had just 26 league appearances under his belt.
Since Emery was replaced at the helm by the disciplinarian Mikel Arteta, however, Guendouzi’s attitude, if not his ability, looks certain to ensure the playmaker’s once-promising Arsenal career ends in disillusion and disappointment.
The fiery Frenchman has strode over the line on multiple occasions under Arteta and an unseemly spat with Neal Maupay at the end of a 2-1 defeat to Brighton was the final straw.
The Sun claims that Guendouzi was banned from training with the first-team squad during the final six weeks of the season and a reunion with Emery is on the cards, although Villarreal would have to pay a club-record £30 million fee.
The La Liga outfit would be far happier with a loan-to-buy deal, though it remains to be seen whether Arsenal are willing to agree to such a deal.
The Gunners need to raise funds for new signings and £30 million would be a very welcome windfall.
Emery apparently sees Guendouzi as the ideal replacement for departed Villarreal legend Santi Cazorla. The former certainly has the natural talent to succeed the latter and his ability has never been the issue.
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