Arsenal have reportedly ‘accepted the idea’ that they will have to lower their asking price for Matteo Guendouzi if they wish to complete a permanent deal for the player.

Arsenal want €20m for Matteo Guendouzi. That’s isn’t a lot. In fact, it works out at around £17m, Marseille, however, don’t want to pay that figure, already £1m below his market value and the clubs have been stuck for weeks, with the player already agreeing a deal and not wanting to move anywhere else.

Now, a report from France, claims that Arsenal will be the ones to blink first and look likely to lower their asking price. It is not clear to what level, however.

• How much did Arsenal pay for Matteo Guendouzi?
• How much is Matteo Guendouzi worth?
• How much are Arsenal likely to get for Matteo Guendouzi?
• How Matteo Guendouzi convinced Unai Emery to give him a chance
• ‘No one had heard of me’: Matteo Guendouzi admits breakthrough season surprised him

Guendouzi arrived at Arsenal as a teenage prospect under Unai Emery, was thrust into the first team in his first season and then exiled from the club when Mikel Arteta arrived due to a falling out and the midfielder’s alleged ‘attitude’.

Sent to Hertha Berlin on loan, Guendouzi has reportedly found agreement with Marseille over a permanent move there where they have told him he will be central to their project.

Arsenal signed Matteo Guendouzi from FC Lorient in July 2018 for £7.2m despite him only being worth around £2.25m. This was the time of Raul Sanllehi, after all, a supposed master deal maker.

Guendouzi signed a four-year contract worth £40,000-per-week.

How much is Matteo Guendouzi worth?

Despite only being worth £2.25m when Arsenal purchased him, it didn’t take long for Guendouzi’s value to start rising once Unai Emery made it clear he was a key part of his Arsenal first team squad.

By the time Emery was sacked and Mikel Arteta arrived, Guendouzi was worth £45m.

Two months later it was being reported that Arsenal wanted £60m for Guendouzi amid PSG interest. By August, Arsenal were said to be looking for £40m and Unai Emery reportedly tabled an offer of €30m.

With his exclusion from the Arsenal squad, Guendouzi’s value has continued its negative spiral, and the midfielder is now worth the same as he was just a few months after his arrival in London – £18m.

This makes him the second most valuable player at his loan side, Hertha BSC, the 54th most valuable Frenchman, and the 60th most valuable central midfielder in world football.

How much are Arsenal likely to get for Matteo Guendouzi?

Guendouzi and Marseille have reportedly reached an agreement, so all that remains is for Arsenal to sort out a price with the Ligue 1 side.

With just one year left on his current Arsenal contract, and his value driven down by whatever went on at Arsenal that saw Mikel Arteta take such umbrage against him, it’s unlikely that Arsenal will even get the £18m Guendouzi is currently valued at.

Reports from France think a deal will be agreed somewhere between €12m and €15m (£10.3m – £12.9m).

Quite an expensive falling out, all things considered.

How Matteo Guendouzi convinced Unai Emery to give him a chance

Matteo Guendouzi convinced Unai Emery to give him a chance in the team from his very first day with Arsenal, by deciding to join pre-season training over his national team.

Immediately after Guendouzi signed for Arsenal, he had the chance to join the France u19 squad for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Finland. However, the youngster instead made the decision to stay in North London and train with his new club teammates.

Unai Emery explained that this was a boost for the player’s chances in the team.

“The first impression from him is very good,” Emery told Standard Sport. “We saw this from the first weeks of pre-season when he arrived here and started training.

“For example, his very big decision to decide not to play with the national team in the summer because he wanted to stay and work with us to show his capacity in pre-season. He earned the possibility to take minutes in the first XI.”

As a result of his decision, the 19-year-old played a heavy part in Arsenal’s pre-season matches. With Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka playing in the World Cup over the summer, both returned to training fairly late on, meaning Guendouzi was the most prepared for the opening competitive matches and kept his place.

Emery said he remained impressed with how the French youngster did in his first season.

“His adaptation was very quick. Now his progress is very good. He is very young. We played with Lucas Torreira and Guendouzi as midfielders at Manchester City. He is a very young player, his present is very good but his ambition is to grow a lot with us and become an important Premier League player.”

For a teenager making the transition from Ligue 2 to the Premier League, Guendouzi had a fantastic first season. He made 48 appearances in all competitions for Arsenal, starting 33, scoring one, assisting two and rarely looked out of his depth despite his young age.

‘No one had heard of me’: Matteo Guendouzi admits breakthrough season surprised him

Matteo Guendouzi admitted that even he was surprised by how quickly he broke into the Arsenal first-team, given nobody knew who he was a year before he arrived in London.

Guendouzi is a rare example of a player going from Ligue 2 to Premier League football without any adaptation period needed, whatsoever. The midfielder was in Arsenal’s starting lineup from the first day of the season, and, as already noted, went on to make 48 appearances in his debut season.

The player himself said it wasn’t what he expected, because he knew he wasn’t a household name when the transfer was announced.

“Let’s be honest, apart from the players here who follow a bit of the French leagues, no one had ever heard of me,” Guendouzi said (via Standard). “So it was very important for me to show what I was capable of as early as possible. I had a chance during the pre-season tour and I took it. I showed I could be part of this team.”

Even so, the midfielder admitted he still didn’t expect to end up as a regular feature of the Arsenal side so soon, and it was all a bit of a surprise to him.

“I still didn’t expect to play so much because I know I’m at a top club with great players,” he continued. “I’m a bit surprised that everything has been going so well. I’ve played well when I’ve featured. I think I showed that I could bring something to the team.

“I am very happy with how things have gone for me at the club so far and if I can keep playing as much in the second half of the season, it would be great.”

A key factor in Guendouzi’s success was the faith that Emery showed in him. He could’ve left the midfielder out for being too inexperienced. When the teenager had a bad game or two, he could’ve been dropped to the bench with little hope of a return.

Instead, the Spaniard stuck by his summer signing until he was sacked. Guendouzi was well aware of how lucky he was to have a manager who supported him like that.

“I owe him a lot because he has trusted me from the beginning,” the former Lorient man said. “He has a lot of faith in me and it is boosting my confidence. To give so much playing time to a 19-year-old at Arsenal is rare.

“I always want to repay his faith by doing well on the pitch. I have much more to learn with him. We talk a lot, he gives me a lot of advice on my positioning, playing forward. I can feel how much better I am now compared to the start of the season. I know all the teams we face better. I know myself better and my game is stronger.”