In the summer of 2018, Arsenal signed a 19 year old central midfielder from the second tier of French football. One month (and one day) and an impressive pre-season later he earned his first start for The Arsenal against reigning champions Manchester City on the opening day of The Premier League.

Matteo began his career at Paris Saint-Germain at the age of six. He went through almost every level of youth football with the french giants before moving to FC Lorient after 9 years at the club. He quickly went through the ranks at Lorient and made his debut for the first team just one year later, at 16 years of age. He earned another 8 nods that season, but his team were relegated from Ligue 1. Ligue 2 would prove to be his true breakthrough however. He made 21 appearences that season and caught the eye of both Unai Emery and Sven Mislintat.

On the 11th of July 2018 Arsenal announced the signing of Matteo Guendouzi for a reported fee of £7m (after add-ons). Most fans immediatly thought he would start out with the u23s and work his way up, but Unai Emery was quick to point out Matteo would be an important part of the first team. Granit Xhaka famously wanted the 34 shirt and took it the first chance he got after the departure of Francis Coquelin, that meant his old number, 29, was available for Arsenal’s newest gem. He was signed in time for Arsenal’s pre-season tour of Singapore, and got to start all 3 International Champions Cup matches against Atletico Madrid, Chelsea and even his mother club, Paris Saint-Germain. He impressed coaches, pundits and fans alike and it seemed evident that Arsenal had found themselves a diamond in the rough.

“We are delighted Matteo is joining us. He is a talented young player and a lot of clubs were interested in him. He has big potential and gained good first-team experience last season with Lorient. He wants to learn and improve and will be an important member of our first-team squad.” Unai Emery

On the 12th of August 2018 Matteo Guendouzi made his debut for Arsenal on the opening day of the Premier League. Arsenal’s biggest signing of the summer, Lucas Torreira from Sampdoria was left on the bench in favour of young Matteo. The youngster featured in what seemed like a midfield pairing with Granit Xhaka. For most of the match Matteo acted as the focal point of Arsenal’s build up play, dropping deep to recieve the ball from either Cech or one of the centre backs, and he excelled at it. He might have looked a bit out of depth in the first 20 minutes or so but after a while we could sense his calmness taking control. Petr Cech seemed intent on making it hard for the young man but he managed to fight off pressure and win the ball back in key areas. Where Matteo had a great game, the same can not be said for his partner in midfield, Granit Xhaka who was subbed off for Lucas in the second half. Arsenal may have ended up losing the game against the champions, but we got to witness the start of what we hope to be a bright career at Arsenal.

Us Arsenal fans have a tendency to overhype our young talented players and put unwanted pressure on their shoulders. While I do not want to take part in that, it is hard not to show my appreciation for a truly great young player. He has all the makings of a star and I personally can not wait to see him play for my club this season.