Matteo Guendouzi denies that his time with Arsenal is over, insisting that his loan to Hertha Berlin was just about his immediate progression.

Matteo Guendouzi left Arsenal for Hertha on deadline day, joining on a season-long loan after various attempts at a permanent swap deal led nowhere.

Some speculate that he won’t play another game for the Gunners, particularly in the wake of Mesut Özil’s exclusion. However, Guendouzi denies that a future with Arsenal is now impossible.

“It is not that, I just really needed to play this year, a new challenge,” Guendouzi said (via GFFN). “That was the most important thing for me. I am still young, I am only 21, so playing time was the top priority for me.

“So Hertha Berlin, I know that I will be able to express myself in a magnificent league.”

It’s good to hear the midfielder say that. Even if he never wants to play for Arsenal again, it’s important he keeps up the illusion that he might. That will help the club in negotiations next summer.

More than that, he might really want to make a positive return to North London. We shouldn’t close off that possibility, as a year away for such a young player could still turn things around for him with his parent club.

For now, he just needs to make a positive start to life with Hertha in Germany. That’s in everyone’s interests.