Matteo Guendouzi made another start for Hertha BSC in a draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, ahead of their derby match later this week.

Hertha Berlin's French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi (L) and Leverkusen's Austrian midflielder Julian Baumgartlinger vie for the ball during the German first division Bundesliga football match Bayer Leverkusen v Hertha Berlin on November 29, 2020. (Photo by Ina Fassbender / various sources / AFP)
Hertha Berlin’s French midfielder Matteo Guendouzi (L) and Leverkusen’s Austrian midflielder Julian Baumgartlinger vie for the ball on November 29, 2020. (Photo by Ina Fassbender / various sources / AFP)

Whilst Arsenal are preparing for the North London derby this weekend, Matteo Guendouzi is getting ready to take part in another derby with his loan club. Hertha BSC take on local rivals Union Berlin on Friday.

In their final game before that clash, Hertha played out a 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen. Guendouzi’s stats weren’t particularly eye-catching, with 84% pass accuracy, six of nine duels won but no involvement in creating or taking chances.

All the same, the Hertha fans like what they see from the Arsenal loanee so far.

German outlet RBB 24 named Guendouzi as one of the reasons Hertha should triumph in Friday’s derby, saying:

“Guendouzi is one of those players who is just so much fun to watch that you would like to play along and take him on yourself. A charisma that also carries over to his teammates.

“The Frenchman makes his teammates better not only through his ball wins and clever player openings. He lives every second on the pitch.”

Guendouzi had to wait a while for his first appearances for Hertha, catching coronavirus before his debut for the club. But he is making a positive impact so far, winning a penalty against Borussia Dortmund last time out.

From a Hertha point of view, they still need to do more to translate those performances into results. They have just one win in Guendouzi’s four appearances so far. A derby match would be the perfect time to get another.