Matteo Guendouzi returned to Arsenal training this week and reports suggested he could be back to the Gunners squad after being exiled weeks before the end of last season. But the Frenchman is likely to make his way out of the Emirates eventually, that is if Mikel Arteta will accept a swap deal proposed by Paris Saint-Germain.
The French side is said to be interested in signing Guendouzi, who the Gunners have placed on the market for £31 million. In exchange, PSG will be sending German attacker Julian Draxler to the English club's direction, supposedly to get a sizeable cut price on Arsenal's asking price.
A homecoming in the upcoming season, however, for Guendouzi seemed unlikely now as he declared excitement in recent days to win back the trust of Arteta. The Spanish boss cut the 21-year-old from the Arsenal first-team following incidents last season that highlighted the player's attitude issues.
The Frenchman had a spat with Arteta while the team was on training in Dubai months ago. Then in June, Guendouzi picked a fight with Brighton man Neal Maupay, which led to his axing from the squad.
Arteta ordered the player to train alone and denied playing minutes in the remaining Arsenal games last season. Then reports came out that the midfielder has been marked for offloading but the team manager appeared to have a change of heart in recent days, Metro reported.
The head coach said Guendouzi will be given a shot to win his way back to Arsenal XI and the erring player will be treated in the same way as his teammates.
"He'll be part of the team and at the moment he's like any other player in our squad. He deserves to be treated exactly the same and I will do that to my best capability," Arteta was reported as saying.
The decision to reinstate Guendouzi for the first-team contradicted the reports that Arsenal did offer the player to several potential buyers this summer. According to Express, journalist Fabrizio Romano claimed that Emirates tried selling the player to clubs in Europe but got no positive replies.
The clubs mentioned were Atletico Madrid, Juventus, and PSG though it appeared that the latter had reconsidered on their earlier stance.
The response was due to the valuation placed on Guendouzi and the transfer expert said the price quoted was just unrealistic.
"They were looking for a swap deal but couldn't find any agreement, which I think is normal. In this summer, I don't think anyone will pay €40m for Guendouzi," Romano was reported as saying.
The journalist added Arsenal tried to sign Thomas Partey from Atletico and included Guendouzi on the discussions but the La Liga seemed not tempted by the proposition.
