Why Arsenal starlet deserves glowing plaudits

The Premier League is a harsh, unforgiving environment where failure and ineptitude are broadcast to the entire planet on a weekly basis. Home to a plethora of the modern game’s most captivating showmen, reputations are either tarnished or amplified as the masses watch on, and there’s one notable rising starlet that’s regularly attracting glowing plaudits for very good reasons indeed.

Matteo Guendouzi has seamlessly acclimatised to life at Arsenal since arriving from Ligue 2 outfit FC Lorient last summer and is rapidly becoming a firm fan favourite. Scepticism and overbearing doubt initially leered over the 19-year-old’s unknown capabilities, but the rough diamond’s enticing dexterity soon seized the imaginations of those that marvelled upon his dogged exploits.

Trusted by Arsene Wenger’s successor, Unai Emery, the flourishing Frenchman has alertly patrolled the Gunners’ midfield department and his authoritative grip has altered both domestic and European proceedings.

In essence, Guendouzi has excelled all expectation in his maiden season on English soil and is undoubtedly a crucial component within the north-Londoners’ engine room, despite being grossly unversed compared to other key figures within Emery’s jewel-encrusted dressing room.Arsenal were put to the sword by Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, a crunch top-flight encounter where Pep Guardiola’s dominant set-up claimed a comprehensive 3-1 victory to maintain their title pursuit. 

The vast majority of Arsenal’s matchday contingent were overawed by the magnitude of the task that unfurled at the Etihad but Guendouzi, a maverick combatant, endeavoured to make his presence known amongst his imperious adversaries.

Pitted against Kevin De Bruyne and company, Guendouzi showcased a tenacity that mildly disturbed City’s cohesion, focus and fluidity, a persistence that signifies his insatiable appetite to prosper within Emery’s teething regime.

Plugging gaps, trading blows and devising intelligent combinations at each end of the turf, the France U21 international injected a refreshing vitality into Arsenal’s matchday fold, alongside an impassioned dimension that’s unique to a professional of his burgeoning stature and recognition.Guendouzi’s inexhaustible work rate against the Sky Blues turned heads and inspired headlines. His stubborn application was a credit to Emery’s resolute philosophy, and the driven teenager embodies all that the innovative Spaniard’s striving to implement at the Gunners. 

Emery implores his camp to be brave, ruthless and unified in every sequence and phase, both on and off the pitch. The former Sevilla FC and Paris Saint-Germain boss has wrongfully befallen criticism, but his revered influence has already remapped the club’s blueprints, which were outdated and penetrable before his appointment in 2018. 

Guendouzi’s fine-tuning his trade and will also endure sticky patches during his career at his new employers, but as long as he remains a studious, adamant enforcer of his responsibilities, he’ll undoubtedly rule Arsenal’s midfield regiment with his own tailor-made dictatorship for years to come.