Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has been named the 85th most valuable footballer in Europe’s ‘Big 5’ leagues by the CIES Football Observatory’s biannual transfer value list .
Guendouzi is priced at €53million (£47m) by the report, suggesting his value has dramatically risen since the Frenchman joined from Lorient for £7m in July 2018.
He ranks 37th among Premier League players and is the 25th highest midfielder among the ‘Big 5’ leagues.
He is one of just two Arsenal players to feature on the 100-strong list, along with Nicolas Pepe. The former Lille winger ranks 52nd and is valued at €73.1m (£65m).
But while Pepe looks like he is going from strength to strength at the Emirates, Guendouzi has rarely featured for Arsenal this calendar year.
The 21-year-old saw his game time diminish under new manager Mikel Arteta, and has started just two Premier League games in 2020.
The CIES Football Observatory report suggests Guendouzi should be playing more regularly, and indeed while Arteta perhaps sees the central midfielder as one for the future, it is perhaps time he is integrated back into the first 11.
Guendouzi was shortlisted for the 2019 Golden Boy award late last year, but since fell out of favour.
The player had to be reprimanded by Arteta for three separate altercations during the club’s winter break in Dubai, according to the Athletic’s David Ornstein (via the Metro), and Arsenal have backed the manager’s hard-lined approach in raising the standards of the club.
“‘It was about the way we train, the way we play, the way we live,’” Arteta said of his decisions regarding Guendouzi. “I want the best players for the game and I select them in relation to what I see on a daily basis.
“I just make my team selection and the squad is selected in regards to how they play, how they train and how they behave.”
Guendouzi, then, will need to train hard and avoid confrontations with team-mates to see his reported £47m valuation credited with first-team action.
But attitude might not be the only problem facing Guendouzi. His combative playing style had become an important feature for Unai Emery’s team, but as Arteta transitions the club into a more possession-centric side the Frenchman’s technical deficiencies have seen him fall behind Lucas Torreira and Dani Ceballos in the pecking order.
Of course, should Arteta deem Guendouzi surplus to requirements, then his CIES valuation suggests Arsenal could raise significant funds from his sale, allowing the Spaniard to focus on other areas.
The club are reportedly interested in signing a centre-back, with RB Leipzig’s Dayo Upamecano just one of several names linked with a move.
Selling Guendouzi could make the defender a realistic target despite the financial impact of the Premier League’s three-month hiatus. Upamecano is said to have a release clause of €60m, or £53m.
But more likely, Guendouzi is simply learning and improving behind the scenes. The Frenchman could yet become one of Arsenal’s most important players. As their second most valuable asset, he will certainly expect to be in the side sooner rather than later.
