Mattéo Guendouzi has made it known he wants to leave Arsenal this summer, and the Gunners are equally keen to see him leave.
That’s according to L’Equipe, who say several of Europe’s biggest sides have already been contacted about a potential move.
Reports in England yesterday revealed that Mikel Arteta had decided to sell the French midfielder after criticising his attitude over the weekend.
That was following an incident in the defeat to Brighton on June 20th, which saw the Guendouzi clashing with striker Neal Maupay amid a poor overall performance from the Gunners.
He has been left out of Arsenal’s team since then and, according to reports, been forced to train on his own away from the senior squad.
Talk of a move away from the Emirates has been rife since and L’Equipe say there is now an acceptance on both sides that Guendouzi should be moved on this summer.
The player has ‘made it known’ to his managers that ‘his wish is to go elsewhere’ and Arsenal have been ‘receptive’ to the idea.
Several sides in Europe have been contacted – Inter Milan, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona are the sides that are ‘pressing’ – but discussions so far are ‘continuing slowly’.
Arsenal have set an asking price of €40m for a sale, but they are open to any ideas in their efforts to get rid of the midfielder.
They would be welcome a loan too, but L’Equipe say it ‘may take some time to settle the matter’.
That is mainly due to most transfer markets still being closed and several of the interested parties still being in the Champions League.
How they fare in that will likely determine their spending power, and what they’ll do in the market so, for the time being, Arsenal chiefs are not pushing negotiations any further.
They intend to focus on finishing the season before working on changing Arsenal’s squad. Guendouzi is also of a similar mind.
He is happy to wait until the end of the season and wants to find a project that has confidence in him and will give him regular playing time to continue his development.
