Matteo Guendouzi is expected to have a medical at Arsenal today after the club agreed an €8m deal with Lorient for the 19-year-old’s signature.

Not long after David Ornstein reported that Arsenal were done with their senior recruitment, save for a player ‘for the future’, Sky Sports started reporting that Arsenal were in talks to sign Guendouzi.

But if they’d looked a bit closer, they would have seen that the deal was a lot further on than that.

This story is repeated across the French press on Monday morning.

180709 lequipe guendouzi
L’Equipe 8/7/18

Guendouzi is a French defensive midfielder who has appeared for his country at u20 level.

He made 21 appearances for the Lorient senior side last season, despite his age, and stands at just over six-feet tall.

According to WhoScored, his biggest strength is making interceptions.

Guendouzi is under contract with Lorient until 2019.

The deal will also see Lorient receive a sell-on fee should Arsenal get rid of Guendouzi.

He is signing a four-year deal with the option of a fifth and was wanted by ‘several European clubs’.

The player, L’Equipe write, was ‘convinced by his exchanges with Unai Emery’ after Sven Mislintat recommended him to the club.