When Matteo Guendouzi was signed from FC Lorient, few would have expected him to have such a profound impact on the English football. At just the age of 18, young Matteo was thrown into the deep sees of premier league having gained the trust of Unai Emery.
However, it was not easy for the floppy-haired lad to swim across the sees, he faced heavy criticism for his inability to pass the ball more stylishly and his clumsiness all over the midfield. But despite all that, Unai gambled with the boy.
A year down the line, Unai’s gamble seems to have paid off. Guendouzi has been named Arsenal’s September player of the month having gunned more votes than goal scorer Aubamayang.
He has turned his critics to his adherent fans with just eight games into 2019/2020 season having started in the first eleven in all the matches. He has been able to improve a lot especially on passing and defending.
Those who have been watching Arsenal’s disastrous performance this season would agree with me that, Guendouzi has come to the rescue of the defense numerous times more than Sokratis and Luiz combined.
Vigour, hunger and an allergy to loosing has seen him rise above hate and criticism. His perfect crafted pass to Aubamayang’s equaliser against Tottenham Hotspur felt like a confirmation of his ability to influence games at the highest level. To anyone who has doubts about Guendouzi i have some facts that might change your opinion about him.
With just 41 appearances to Arsenal, Guendouzi has managed to make 2,062 passes totalling to and average of 50.22% per game. In big matches, he has created 10 chances with a cross accuracy of 10% per game. At just the age of 20, his shooting accuracy is estimated to be 37% coming from 22 shots and 11 shots on target so far.
Being a midfielder, he has been able to make 60 tackles averaging to 58% tackle success. On this evidence it is clear that this kid has an amazing career ahead of him.
According to Arsenal’s head coach Unai Emery, Guendouzi surpassed expectations of many coaching staff at Colney. He admitted to have fallen for Guendouzi’s determination and hard work during training and even taking extra minutes to train.
It is not only Unai who seems to be pleased with the lad, former England boss Sam Allardyce narrated admiration for Matteo. ”What a find. He’s going unrecognised and under the radar, which is a good thing for him at such a young age.” Said Allardyce.
From a human perspective, Guendouzi has an equal share of faults. He is quick to anger and in many occasions picked up fights with opponents. So far he has collected 11 yellow cards from 41 games a worrying trend that needs Unai’s attention.
It will be an interesting football journey for Guendouzi and certainly pundits, analyst and fans will be keeping tabs on him. With age on his side, he has room for mistakes and improvements but mostly he has a good team to build himself around.