Arsenal have competed their fifth signing of the summer after announced the acquisition of teenage midfielder Matteo Guendouz from French side Lorient.
The 19-year-old moves to Arsenal for an undisclosed fee, thought to be a deal worth around £7m, and comes fewer than 24 hours after the Premier League club sealed the £22m addition of Uruguay midfielder Lucas Torreira to take their summer spending beyond the £60m barrier.
Having added defenders Stephen Lictsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopoulos as well as goalkeeper Bernd Leno in deals that are very much seen by manager Unai Emery as quick fixes, Guendouz’s arrival points to the club maintaining at least one eye on their future – something that Emery’s predecessor Arsene Wenger was renowned for.
“It’s something I’m immensely proud of,” Guendouz said after signing what is understood to be a five-year deal. “Arsenal have always been the team closest to my heart and a side I’ve wanted to join since I was a child. It gives me great pride [to join them], it’s incredible.
“I hope I can do great things here. It doesn’t get any better than coming to a club like this, with so much history, like Arsenal. I’m hugely proud.”
Emery was relieved to get the deal over the line, having seen Gouendouz’s talents first-hand last season in Ligue 1 while he was in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, and claimed that a number of Arsenal’s rivals were also in for the France Under-19 international.
“We are delighted Matteo is joining us,” Emery said. “He is a talented young player and a lot of clubs were interested in him. He has big potential and gained good first-team experience last season with Lorient. He wants to learn and improve and will be an important part of our first-team squad.”
The club have confirmed that Guendouz will wear the No 29 shirt, which has been vacated by Granit Xhaka this summer after he decided to take the No 34 shirt.
