I will be touching on why I disagree with the Guendouzi loan to Hertha Berlin. Other topics covered include a question for Arséne Wenger you haven’t seen being asked yet and various thoughts on my problem with the Matteo Guendouzi loan.
Moving onto the first issue…
Arséne Wenger has released his new book, My Life in Red and White and has been making various media appearances in recent times. From a series of answered questions with The Guardian, to a fun appearance on The Graham Norton Show and many more interviews.
Yet despite all of this I have been feeling incredibly empty recently. Mainly caused by a certain question that unfortunately has not been asked or answered. What did Arséne Wenger do with his sword?
Dear reader, cast your mind back to 2016. In a certain pre-season friendly against Viking FK, Arséne Wenger was presented with the gift of a sword. And I’m wondering what did end up happening with Arsene Wenger’s sword? I feel as if I’m the only voice of reason here, the world has gone mad and I am the only one remaining to ask the important questions.
Just look at that thing.
Sadly, this question will never be answered, unless Arséne Wenger himself is reading this (Hi Arséne!). What happened to the sword? Was it used to open letters, butter food, perhaps threaten noisy journalists who ask annoying questions? I just realised I fit into this category. We will never know. Nevertheless let’s turn to my disagreements with the Guendouzi loan, shall we?.
Due to the fact that Matteo Guendouzi has fallen out with Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, the talented French midfielder has been subsequently axed from the current Arsenal squad. My real issues with the Guendouzi loan lie in the particular details of the loan. In my mind the loan to Hertha Berlin over other clubs interested in loaning Guendouzi, makes no sense.
To put it simply I don’t understand why Guendouzi was loaned to Hertha Berlin over Olympique de Marseille. Olympique de Marseille were seriously interested in loaning Matteo Guendouzi but Arsenal rejected the French side’s offer.
If loaned to Marseille Guendouzi would have been in a familiar environment in his home country. There wouldn’t be an adjustment period to a foreign country (as Guendouzi will surely experience in Germany). That means the on-loan midfielder could fully focus on football and get back to playing regularly at a high level.
A move back to France could suit the young midfielder.
Playing in France, for one of the top French sides would increase Guendouzi’s profile considerably, especially in France. If Arsenal were looking to sell the talented young midfielder a successful loan in France would result in a number of clubs being in for Guendouzi. A loan to Marseille would have been in Arsenal’s best interests.
This can be proven by the fact that Marseille are in the Champions League, on the other hand Hertha Berlin are not in any European competition. That means that if Matteo Guendouzi were loaned to Marseille, he would have appeared in the Champions League. A stage and platform which you cannot argue would increase his value and profile. For instance, helping him to develop as a player.
If Marseille advance to the knockout rounds of the Champions League or even finished third and dropped down into the Europa League they would be guaranteed eight European matches. More games for Guendouzi to have played in. Playing in France would increase the opportunity for Guendouzi making potential appearances in the French senior national team too.
Regular European football would help develop Guendouzi as a player and increase his price tag.
Despite all the visible benefits of the potential loan, Arsenal decided to send Matteo Guendouzi out on loan to Hertha Berlin instead. Which don’t get me wrong, isn’t that bad of a loan. I personally believe a move to Marseille would be much more practical however.
I would genuinely love to know your thoughts on well, my thoughts! Feel free to comment below or you can even reach out to me on Twitter. Remember to stay tuned to Gunners Town for more from myself.
I am a young writer, focused on producing high quality content. With a love for both journalism and writing, I have a growth mindset, where I strive for continuous improvement. I am also an: Occasional freelancer. Unai Emery Enthusiast. A person of many plans.
Also interested in the psyche, mentality and mental health of players – their motivation, the harmful effects of social media, and how the football world affects them.
At Marseille he would have been much more likely to spend most of hist time on the bench whilst Berlin were presumably more willing to guarantee appearances. I am also not sure that sending a player with an attitude problem back into his comfort zone is how you get him to improve. Maybe Arteta thought that an environment where Gallic charm as well as tantrums are less likely to have any effect might be more developmental.
Hi, thanks for the comment.
I don’t think Marseille would have been a true comfort zone for Guendouzi as he would still have to settle into a new city and club. I do get you points and I agree that the loan to Hertha Berlin would guarantee more time for Guendouzi as he would be an undisputed starter for Hertha Berlin. But I still hold the opinion that the Marseille loan would be better for Guendouzi.
Regards. Raphael.
Doesn’t Matteo have a say in where he goes, maybe he turned Marseilles down as he did initially refuse an earlier approach from Hertha, so maybe it wasn’t entirely down to Arsenal where he went, maybe he fancied a year in Berlin?
Hi, that is an interesting unmentioned point. Regardless of who turned down the offer be it the player, club, manager, agent or perhaps financial disagreements between the clubs I think we can agree the loan to Marseille was a missed opportunity.
I take your point there about being in a familiar setting, but let me offer an alternative thinking on that. This is all just speculation, but if they have any hopes for him to return to Arsenal as a player they might have been looking at which club has the best plan for him. Another explanation might be that they actually want him to stay out of his comfort zone to understand better that you do really need to adapt to the environment, playing style, culture, etc to be a professional football player. If they feel his attitude is due to a lack of maturity, he might mature more being exposed to a new environment rather than something that is too familiar for him. But then again, do we really believe he will come back and Arsenal plan for that? Certainly not the way it looks right now, but hey – what do I know♂️
Hi Lars,
There certainly is a lot of speculation. Will he stay? Will he go? Truthfully we don’t really know. Arsenal’s plan for Guendouzi isn’t entirely clear, are they hoping for a good loan that will increase the players value and then cash in? Or are they hoping things can turn around once the loan ends and the players attitude is developed more?
You have made some interesting points, perhaps Hertha Berlin had a better plan in place that suited what Arsenal wanted? I still feel that the loan to Marseille would have been best, especially considering the clubs most likely to chase after and buy the player (if Arsenal want to sell) are the French clubs. Think Arsenal trying to offer Guendouzi in a swap deal for Aouar, or the PSG rumours or even Marsille’s interest in the player.