Matteo Guendouzi Completes Transfer to Arsenal from Lorient

Arsenal have completed the signing of midfielder Matteo Guendouzi from Lorient.

The transfer was confirmed on Arsenal's official website on Wednesday, and head coach Unai Emery welcomed the 19-year-old to the north London club: 

"We are delighted Matteo is joining us. He is a talented young player and a lot of clubs were interested in him. He has big potential and gained good first-team experience last season with Lorient. He wants to learn and improve and will be an important part of our first-team squad."

Guendouzi began his career as a member of Paris Saint-Germain's youth setup before joining Lorient's academy in 2014.

He made his first senior appearance for Lorient in Ligue 1 in October 2016 and played a bit-part role as the club were relegated in 2016-17.

Last season, he made 18 appearances as Lorient finished seventh in Ligue 2.

The France under-20 international is Arsenal's fifth signing of the summer after the arrivals of Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira.

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/Getty Images

The Arsenal squad is undergoing a major overhaul following the departure of manager Arsene Wenger at the end of last season.

A defensive-minded midfielder, Guendouzi is making a big step up in joining Arsenal, but he is definitely the kind of player they need.

He is able to break up play in the middle of the park and is also a fine passer of the ball, and he should be able to fit into a number of different systems depending on how Emery wants to set out his new side.

Arsenal fans will need to be patient with Guendouzi as he is still raw and lacking experience. But he looks to have the tools to become a big asset at the Emirates Stadium.