Guendouzi hopes to be a first-team player this season

Arsenal‘s new signing Matteo Guendouzi harbours hopes of breaking into the Arsenal first-team this season.

Guendouzi, 19, joined the Gunners from Ligue 2 side Lorient this summer for a fee in the region of £8m but it was unclear where he would fit into the club’s set up.

The teenager has already impressed with his appearances during pre-season for Arsenal and has been compared to former midfielder Patrick Vieira.

And Guendouzi is eager to learn from his new teammates, while also holding out for some first-team experiences across the year.

“I hope to play, that’s true but this is a big squad, with a lot of great players with a lot of experience,” he told AFP.

“It’s a question of working, working, working, and afterwards the coach will make his choices. But I hope to play a few games.”

Guendouzi is one of five signings for Arsenal this summer under new head coach Unai Emery, joining the club alongside Stephan Lichtsteiner, Bernd Leno, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Lucas Torreira.

And the Spanish tactician is already implementing his style of play on the Gunners.

“It’s a great atmosphere,” Guendouzi added. “It’s a great environment to work in, we’re working really well in training and we’re playing well in the matches.

“But it’s only the start,” he added. “Hopefully this will be a big adventure with Arsenal.

“These are only friendly matches so I need to keep working — that’s the most important thing for the future I hope to have at Arsenal.”

Arsenal kick off the Premier League campaign against defending champions Manchester City on August 12 before facing a Chelsea side looking to improve on a poor last season just six days later.

Who is Matteo Guendouzi?

While some Arsenal fans may have had the opportunity to see Guendouzi on the pitch during pre-season, the teenager’s history may still be a mystery to most.

Starting his career as a youth player with Paris Saint-Germain, Guendouzi would move to Lorient in 2014 and feature regularly for their B side during the 2015/16 season.

He then made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old, coming on from the bench as Lorient lost 2-1 to Nantes in October 2016 before making a further seven league appearances that season as the club were relegated to Ligue 2.

Last season, playing as a defensive midfielder, Guendouzi made 21 appearances in all competitions including 18 in Ligue 2 to help Lorient finish seventh.

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