Matteo Guendouzi has appeared in Marseille's promotional kit video before either the French club or Arsenal confirmed his transfer.
The central midfielder is making his loan move to the French club permanent from the Gunners for a reported £9million fee but no deal has yet been announced by either club. Guendouzi enjoyed a successful season on loan at the Ligue 1 club.
Having received his first call-up to the France international side last season, the midfielder has gone from strength to strength and made his France international debut earlier this season as he appeared for Les Bleus in a World Cup qualifier against Finland in November. The 23-year-old then revelled in fulfilling his "dream" of scoring for the international side against South Africa in March.
Guendouzi had been due to complete his permanent move to Marseille this summer upon the expiration of his loan deal, which was set for 1 July. However, neither club have announced the deal and the player is still listed on Arsenal's official website.
The player earned high praise from Marseille boss Jorge Sampaoli earlier this season as the Argentine boss claimed that the midfielder was a "natural leader" in his side. It is now thought he has penned a three-year contract with the Ligue 1 outfit that will keep him in the south of France until 2025.
"Aside from his youth, Matteo has a particular energy," Marseille boss Sampaoli explained. "He has a desire to win and he's a natural leader. We imagined that would be the case but that it would happen over time. Seeing this in addition to his performances, we have an energy that everyone can envy.
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"It is contagious and it's a very important value in life. Experience is important for everyone but, for young people, sometimes difficult events are not good experiences. There is also personal capacity on the mental side. Guendouzi, for example, he is a 22-year-old but he acts like he is 30. The most important thing is maturity."
Last month, Guendouzi appeared to confirm the switch would happen: "Yes, of course (I intend to stay at Marseille). I feel very good here, and the objective is to play in the upcoming Champions League campaign. I have played matches in the Europa League, and for some time now I've been waiting for this Champions League. I can't wait to be there!"
However, no deal has yet to be confirmed in a curious development where neither club has released a press release adding that the loan arrangement has been made permanent.
Having joined Arsenal as a teenager as a relative unknown talent from Lorient – then in France's second division – Guendouzi's rise to prominence in North London was notable. Across 18 months, he was a regular under Unai Emery and then Mikel Arteta – with his transfer valuation multiple times the £9m which the club would agree to receive not so long later.
Having been at the centre of the Gunners' midfield for a season-and-a-half, Guendouzi's last game for the club was against Brighton in June 2020. The Seagulls won that match late on in an ill-tempered affair, with Neal Maupay's collision with Gunners goalkeeper Bernd Leno ruling the German out of the rest of the campaign.
Tensions were running high and at the end of the game, Guendouzi is alleged to have briefly grabbed Maupay by the throat but referee Martin Atkinson took no action and there was no subsequent punishment – with the midfielder not playing for Arsenal again.
Guendouzi had made 82 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions and had looked set to star for them over many years. But that trip to Brighton was his last outing for the club. The midfielder, who joined Arsenal from Lorient in 2018, spent last season out on loan at Hertha Berlin, making 24 appearances and scoring two goals before injury cut his campaign short. He subsequently joined Marseille on a season-long loan deal last summer which has seemingly become permanent.
