New Arsenal recruit Matteo Guendouzi has revealed that former Gunners star Jeremie Aliadiere played a key role in influencing his decision to join the club this summer.
Guendouzi emerged as a target for a whole host of clubs across Europe but opted to join Arsenal after they stumped up a fee worth £7 million to Lorient to land the player.
The young midfielder has since caught the eye under Unai Emery, impressing in several pre-season outings. As a result of his good form in recent friendly fixtures, Guendouzi was handed his competitive Arsenal debut in the team’s 2-0 defeat to Manchester City at the weekend.
Nevertheless, the youngster appears to be set for an involved role under Emery at Arsenal and it seems as though the club went to significant efforts to lure him away from the grasp of other top European sides.
As quoted by the Mirror, Guendouzi reflected on his decision to join Arsenal and explained Aliadiere’s role in his transfer.
It’s true there were a lot of clubs interested in me — I had talks with some of the biggest clubs in Europe. But as soon as I heard from Arsenal, the decision was very simple and I’m very happy to be here.
I did speak to Jeremie about Arsenal and he said it’s a place where I can progress and learn a great deal from the staff here. He always spoke very positively and that made me feel very confident in the choice that I’d made. It’s the club of my heart.
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