Matteo Guendouzi display shows extent of Mikel Arteta's Arsenal transfer mistake

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has already made a transfer decision over midfielder Matteo Guendouzi for next summer.

The Frenchman is currently spending the season on loan at Ligue 1 club Marseille, where he once again put in a starring performance on Sunday evening.

The central midfielder played a key role in his side's scoreless draw against Paris Saint-Germain, where he helped shackle the likes of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Angel di Maria.

It was a game in which Marseille enjoyed the better opportunities and were frustrated not to take all three points, particularly after PSG wing-back Achraf Hakimi was sent-off just after the hour.

Fans of the Gunners will no doubt have had one eye on Jorge Sampaoli's Marseille this season due to the involvement of Guendouzi and William Saliba, the central defender who is also on loan from the North London club.

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Matteo Guendouzi helped stop PSG's attacking threat in Sunday's Ligue 1 clash ( Image:

GUILLAUME HORCAJUELO/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

As highlighted by performance analysis website Whoscored.com, Saliba had the joint-highest individual rating of the match with a 7.4/10 ranking - including a superb last-ditch tackle to dispossess Kylian Mbappe.

The future of Saliba at the Gunners remains unclear - he has been loaned out in successive seasons under Arteta's instruction, with fans perplexed as to why he has not been given first-team opportunities at the Emirates.

The future of Guendouzi does lie away from the club, despite his 7.1/10 ranking during the encounter - the third highest on the pitch and better than any PSG opponent.

Guendouzi is key on and off the ball for Marseille ( Image:

Getty Images)

Having spent last season on loan at Hertha Berlin, Guendouzi is now finding the best form of his career at Marseille, where he has already been named in Ligue 1's Team of the Week twice this campaign.

Yet despite Arsenal having the option to recall him from a loan spell, they have decided not to take up this option and Marseille will now be obliged to sign him this summer in a £9.5million permanent move.

Guendouzi told Amazon Prime after the game against PSG: "Overall we had a good match, we had situations to score, particularly in the second half but we did not manage to do so.

Guendouzi didn't allow Neymar to get going during the Ligue 1 clash ( Image:

AFP via Getty Images)

"It is a point added, we wanted to take the three points and I think we deserved to take them today because we were the better team.

"It bodes well for the rest of the league.

"One point is not enough for us because we always want to aim as high as possible but the performance was encouraging."

Guendouzi's performances led to the France Under-21 captain earning a call up to the senior French national squad for the first time.

Last month, French pundit Habib Beye - a former Marseille defender who played in England for Newcastle, Aston Villa and Doncaster - recently raved about his impact at the Ligue 1 club.

Beye told Canal+ via Le 10 Sport : "(Pablo) Longoria has recruited players whose profile fits perfectly with (Jorge) Sampaoli's philosophy. I am thinking in particular of Guendouzi.

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"He is also on the first level. I have the impression that he is the lower counterpart of what Dimitri Payet can be, in technical accuracy. OM did not have that in the past, and Guendouzi is good for this team."

Guendouzi made 82 appearances for the North London side in all competitions and had looked set for a bright future at the club but is now in the second of two loan deals away from the Emirates before heading for a permanent departure.

Yet his performances this season, amplified by Sunday night's star role, suggest that Arteta may have made a big transfer error.