It was the biggest decision of Matteo Guendouzi’s life. It was the start of this summer and the 19-year-old needed to choose what type of environment would help him to grow, at which football club would his future take place.

It had been a difficult season for him, playing in patches for FC Lorient in Ligue 2 but falling out with manager Mickael Landreau and often being left out of the team. He could have played for France at the European Under-19 Championship in June, but he wanted his future finalised instead.

Not many teenagers from that position would have their pick of Europe’s top clubs, but Guendouzi is different. Borussia Dortmund, the great talent nurturers, had followed him for some time. So had Paris Saint-Germain, who wanted to buy back the player they released four years ago.

Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Arsenal Petr Cech 6 out of 10 His goal was shielded ably by Arsenal’s backline, but when called upon he was not found wanting, saving well down low from De Bruyne early on. He might, though, have done better for Toure’s goal. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Bellerin 6 out of 10 Back to his best at both ends, particularly putting in a tidy shift defensively where he cut out several attempts to spread the play out wide. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Mertesacker 7 out of 10 Dominant in the air throughout. City had plenty of corners but with Mertesacker in the area Arsenal never looked threatened. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Koscielny 7 out of 10 Set the tone as early as the third minute when he whipped the ball off Aguero’s feet as he looked to break. Bar one miskick in the first half this was excellent from Koscielny, who tidied up loose passing from City well. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Monreal 6 out of 10 Solid in defence and valuable in attack just like his compatriot at the other end. Early on he let De Bruyne break too often but he soon fixed that. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Flamini 6 out of 10 Took it upon himself to stick to Silva throughout and so he deserves credit for the tough time City’s playmaker had. At times he can be bypassed too easily on the counter attack but his organisation of the backline was critical. Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Ramsey 7 out of 10 All the questions around Ramsey ahead of the game were about his defensive game; he answered them in style time and again. His tackle count may not be the highest, but he was always back doing his duty. In the second half he embraced his licence to bomb on against City’s diffident backline and could have had a goal. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Campbell 8 out of 10 A 40 yard sprint to add ballast to defence in an early City counter typified everything that has been good about Campbell. Committed at both ends of the field he brought perfect balance to the lineup, whilst his understanding with Bellerin improves by the day. Deserved a goal to seal a man of the match display. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Ozil 8 out of 10 Of course he registered yet another pair of assists, even though the City midfield attempted to surround him from minute one to minute 90. His eye for a pass was yet again sublime as he offered further proof he could be relied on in the biggest games. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Walcott 7 out of 10 He’s not in the side to track back. Nor to add to the build-up. Or to press the opposition. Wenger picked him because given a half-chance he will probably hit the target, as he showed quite emphatically for the opening goal. What more could be asked of him? 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Giroud 7 out of 10 An exemplary display of what a target man should do in the modern age. He relished aerial battles with Mangala and Otamendi but brought his team-mates into the game equally well when he had the ball at his feet. Another goal capped off a fine display. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Hart 7 out of 10 Equipped himself rather well considering the porous nature of his backline, as time and again he was called upon to make close-range saves when his team-mates allowed opponents to burst through. Might have done better for the second goal though, when Giroud fired through his legs. Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Sagna 5 out of 10 After so many years at the Emirates you might have thought Sagna would know not to allow Walcott to cut in on to his right, but that’s what he allowed him to do. Though Arsenal rarely attacked down the left when they did they got plenty of joy against a slow Sagna. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Otamendi 4 out of 10 He lacks for nothing except application, and it showed tonight as Giroud found that simply wanting the ball more than his disinterested opponent would ensure he won it. On one occasion he seemed to simply fall over rather than bother competing with Giroud. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Mangala 4 out of 10 At times this was a display of staggering incompetence from a player valued at over £30 million just a year ago. They’d do well to get a tenth of that after a display in which he gave the ball away in critical areas time and again, contributing decisively to Arsenal’s second. Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Kolarov 6 out of 10 A decent display, at least compared to his team-mates. He bombed forward with purpose and did his best to repel the dangerous double-act of Bellerin and Campbell. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings De Bruyne 6 out of 10 A performance packed with bright moments but hardly game-changing ones, for instance when he burst through on Cech’s goal before dragging his shot wide when Silva was well-placed. An almost anti-Walcott display; lots of possession, minimal output. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Toure 5 out of 10 City’s engine room was running on fumes tonight. Though his running looked like that of an injured man he might then at least have focused his attentions on defence, but too often he allowed failed to keep up with Ozil. In many ways his goal only served to enhance the frustration he brought, why wait 80 minutes to do something so brilliant? Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Fernandinho 5 out of 10 On so many occasion he seemed to be caught out from behind by an Arsenal player challenging from the ball as he was one of several players to not show the required intensity for a top of the table match. He scarcely moved from the middle third of the pitch in attack or defence. 2015 Getty Images Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Delph 5 out of 10 No surprise whatsoever that he was hooked off at half-time. Pellegrini had said his role was to offer cover down the left, but he never tamed Bellerin’s forward runs and was muscled off the ball by Campbell. 2015 The Arsenal Football Club Plc Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Silva 5 out of 10 Not the only player to look lacking in match sharpness; even his famed passing was off the mark too often. Well-tracked by Flamini but he never forced the issue by dropping deep or moving wide. Arsenal vs Manchester City player ratings Aguero 5 out of 10 Despite several days of first-team training he did not look remotely fit enough for this game and was overpowered and quite easily managed by Mertesacker and Koscielny, though in his defence his team-mates gave him little to work with. 2015 Getty Images

But Guendouzi only wanted Arsenal. Sven Mislintat and Unai Emery had both sought after him with their former employers, and when Arsenal first approached Lorient, the French side knew they were serious.

“Arsenal contacted us and it was very clear immediately he was a player they wanted to sign,” Lorient president Loic Fery remembers. “Once we had those clubs starting to be interested, we asked him where he wanted to go. He told me that Arsenal was his preference. He wanted to play in the Premier League and Arsenal would be great for him.”

Lorient were happy to sell him there. “One thing we don’t do at Lorient is let players who have such big potential go to clubs that are not top notch,” Fery says. “We definitely felt Arsenal would be a very good match for him.”

£7.5m later he was an Arsenal player and on Sunday Guendouzi made his Premier League debut at the Emirates against Manchester City. Up against the Premier League champions he looked out of place one moment then comfortably at home the next. He was brushed aside by Raheem Sterling for City’s first goal, but provided more midfield creativity than any of his team-mates. Assured and incisive in possession, he already looks like a more gifted deep-lying passer than Granit Xhaka.

It was a performance that underlined Guendouzi’s promise but also his lack of experience. He had only started four top flight games in his life before this one, and had never truly established himself in French senior football. And yet to speak to anyone who has worked with Guendouzi at Lorient is to hear of his unusual talent, and a temperament to match.

Lorient identified Guendouzi's talent from an early age (Loic Fery)

Guendouzi is not from Brittany but from Paris, from the suburb of Poissy, and he was in the PSG academy as a boy. But they released him at 14 and Lorient, who had just set up their own academy, picked him up. He quickly impressed with his natural ability on the ball, as well as his enthusiasm for the game. His gifted younger brother Milan soon followed. Like any very talented youngster, Matteo was the best player in every team he played in. “Each time he is tested at the upper level, at U16, U17, U19, each time it took him only a few times to become the boss of the team,” Fery remembers. Guendouzi inspired Lorient to win France’s under-17 tournament in 2015, a first for the club, and a vindication for signing him.

“We were all very impressed by how he plays with his head up,” remembers Fery. “Very much in the style of what Lorient had been historically playing, our passing game. That is what characterises him. I know he plays in front of the defence, but he is more of an offensive midfielder than a defensive midfielder. He is always looking for the impossible pass, the pass to make the difference.”

So Lorient did what they had never done before, fast-tracked Guendouzi from the academy towards a professional deal, which was agreed at the start of the 2016/17 season, to kick in on his 18th birthday. That season started awfully – seven defeats from the first nine games – and so coach Sylvain Ripoll decided to call on the precocious gangly 17-year-old, who was already nicknamed ‘David Luiz’. What most stood out for Ripoll was not the hair or even the technique but the personality. “He loves football, he eats football, drinks football, sleeps football,” he says. “He would be frustrated when training ended, even after two hours. If he has one more hour, he will be practicing with the ball, right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot.” Even more striking to Ripoll was Guendouzi’s bravery, always wanting to compete and challenge himself in difficult circumstances, especially on the pitch. “He has a big personality, and that is a rare personality for a young player.”

Matteo Guendouzi pictured with Loic Fery after signing his first professional contract (Loic Fery)

Guendouzi impressed in his league debut against Dijon but Lorient lost in the last minute and Ripoll was sacked. Guendouzi started the next two Ligue 1 games under a caretaker but that remains his best run in the top flight. Because things did not go so well with his replacement Bernard Casoni. During the winter break Lorient staff decided that Guendouzi should feature more in the second half of the season. “During the Christmas break we had a meeting with Casoni and decided that no matter what, we should use Guendouzi,” says former vice-president Alex Hayes.

So Casoni brought Guendouzi back in to start a cup game against Nice on 8 January. He was booked after just 12 minutes but kept flying into tackles and the referee told Casoni that if he did it again he would be sent off. After one more lunge, Casoni had to take Guendouzi off on 55 minutes, and the 17-year-old stormed off refusing to shake his manager’s hand. He only made one more appearance that season, as Lorient were relegated.

“He believes so much in himself that he is outraged with anyone who doesn’t place him on the same pedestal that he believes he should be placed on,” Hayes says. “He has real issues with that side of his temperament. He is not a bad kid, he’s not nasty, he’s just got an innate, deep belief in himself.”

Last season Lorient were in Ligue 2, with new manager Mickael Landreau, and 18-year-old Guendouzi had a fresh start. He started out of the team but forced his way into it and was enjoying a good run when a row with Landreau at half-time during a game against Valenciennes in November saw him dropped from the team. He did not return to a match-day squad for three months. By this point it was clear enough that he was leaving, having decided not to sign a new contract and with Juventus among his first suitors.

But Fery believes that the firm treatment Landreau showed him was the best possible thing for Guendouzi’s career. “Last season the coach made him feel that he needed to show consistency, and his attitude needed to be perfect, so he was put on the backseat for a few games,” Fery says. “It helped him a lot when he came back. Because he is so talented, he just needs to make sure his work ethic and attitude is what is expected at the top, top level.”

Matteo Guendouzi looks to have a bright future if he can maintain his development (Getty) (Getty Images)

Not every manager who has coached Guendouzi has had a problem with his attitude. He has shone for France at U-18, U-19 and U-20 level after turning down the chance to play for Morocco. Ripoll, who is now coach of the France U-21s, says that he never would have picked Guendouzi for Lorient if his attitude was wrong, and was very complimentary about his “passion” for football. He just has to feel loved and trusted by managers, Ripoll says, and to channel his emotion the right way.

So while Arsenal is a huge technical leap from Ligue 2, and the Premier League an even bigger physical one, it could be the perfect place. He will have to strengthen up so he does not get skipped past like Sterling did to him on Sunday, he will have to sharpen up to cope with the ferocious pressing. But at 19 years old he has plenty of time left to learn that.

The challenge of playing for Arsenal, the pressure, the expectations, the global fanbase, the talented team-mates, the start of the new project, could be exactly what this 19-year-old needs. If he does not “channel his passion” then he will be back in Ligue 1 before he knows it. But if he rises to it, this could be the environment he always needed.

“Maybe at a big club, with big players in the dressing room, where he could see he would have to compete with people who had achieved things, then he would keep developing,” Hayes says. “If he can do that, stay focused, and bring humility to the way he does things, he can keep that determination and nastiness you need to be a top player.”

Can Guendouzi make the step up to the Premier League? (Getty)

Fery agrees that the size of the step up, and the sharp culture shock, could be the key to unlock Guendouzi’s talents. “I am not worried about his ability to adapt, because he needs that, he needs a challenge,” says Fery. “He can lack a bit of a challenge, that’s what he found last year. Coaches are very strict with him, they think that is the way to keep him improving his game and his attitude.”