“Arteta forced me to sell him out of the club for just £9 million, and now he’s worth 311% more,” the owner of Arsenal reveals his dissatisfaction with the sale of an exceptional star who made only 48 appearances under Mikel Arteta and has now become one of the best in the world at his new club.
Now worth 311% more than it was when it was sold for £9 million: The sale of Arsenal’s phenomenal ace may be a mistake.
You only need to look as far as Arsenal’s current first-team squad to see how many young talents of high quality the club possesses. Each and every one of them unquestionably has a significant part to play in North London.
As the Gunners have been working towards ending their two-decade wait for a Premier League trophy, Bukayo Saka has been the shining light for the Gunners in the final third over the past couple of years. He has frequently won games for Mikel Arteta on his own, which has been a significant factor in their success.
Since making his debut, the Englishman has made just over 250 appearances for his boyhood club, during which time he has contributed 67 goals and 73 assists. He has shown his impact in front of goal by registering a goal contribution every 1.7 matches, demonstrating his overall effectiveness.
Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly, on the other hand, are just two of the most recent prospects to emerge from the Hale End Academy. They have been given numerous opportunities to score, and they have taken advantage of them with both hands. This was demonstrated by the fact that they were able to score in the 5-1 victory over Manchester City that took place over the weekend.
It is safe to say that not all of the young people who exhibit their talents at the Emirates go on to have a successful time in North London. Over the course of the past few years, a significant number of these young people have failed to meet the requirements.
Failures of Arsenal’s young players from Hale End
The outstanding goalscoring form that Folarin Balogun displayed in the youth ranks, particularly in the U18 Premier League, led many people in North London to believe that he would become a prominent figure in the future.
After such a run of form, the American is currently ranked as the third highest scorer in the history of the division. He has scored a total of 34 goals in just 33 appearances, and he has the potential to become their star number nine.
On the other hand, he would only make a total of ten appearances for the first team of the Gunners. He would make a substantial profit when he joined Monaco in 2023, but he would ultimately be unable to make an impact at the club where he had spent his childhood.
In addition, Serge Gnabry had high hopes of being successful at the club; however, he was sold prematurely and is now starring for Bayern Munich. Since moving to the Bundesliga club in 2018, he has made over 250 appearances for Bayern Munich.
Arteta may come to regret his decision to let the star leave the club in the future. He is not the only youngster who has moved away from the club in recent years and gone on to have a successful career elsewhere.
It’s possible that Arsenal will come to regret selling the midfield star.
In the summer of 2018, Mateo Guendouzi, a French midfielder, made the move from Lorient, a French club, to Arsenal for a fee of seven million pounds. He did so with high expectations for his future with Arsenal.
On the other hand, he would make an immediate impact at the Emirates, appearing in a total of 48 matches across all competitions during his first season with the club, including 33 competitive matches in the league.
The second and final year of his career as a member of the first team would see a slight decrease in the number of minutes he played. He would only make 34 appearances before an infamous altercation with fellow Frenchman Neal Maupay ultimately caused him to lose his position at the Emirates.
Guendouzi would go through two separate loan stints at Hertha Berlin and Marseille before joining Marseille on a permanent basis for just £9 million. Although he would make a profit, he would not be able to reach the heights that many people had anticipated due to his off-the-field antics.
Since then, he has relocated to Lazio, which plays in Serie A. This move has been a game-changer for his career, as he has made 75 appearances in the past two seasons. As a result of his consistent performances, his market value has skyrocketed.
The Frenchman, who was referred to as “phenomenal” by James Benge, a football correspondent for CBS, is currently valued at €45 million (£37 million) by CIES Football Observatory. This represents a 311% increase from the fee that they sold him for just a couple of years ago.
After Guendouzi’s attitude problems, which harmed his relationship with Arteta, it is unfortunate that the 25-year-old player was unable to find success at the club. However, it is evident that there was never going to be a way back for Guendouzi if he pursued the opportunity.
His current form, on the other hand, could have been advantageous for the Spaniard, who has not yet witnessed the best performance from another midfielder in Mikel Merino. Possibly, they will come to regret their choice to make such a low-cost profit.
