Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal will oversee the departure of two promising young talents at the end of the season – but will pocket a feeble £12m combined fee for the pair of them
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Arsenal will allow both Dinos Mavropanos and Matteo Guendouzi to leave the club come the end of the season at the end of their respective loan spells.
According to reports from football.london, the young duo will call time on their Arsenal careers in the upcoming summer transfer window – pocketing £12m in the process.
Many of the Emirates faithful will be underwhelmed by that figure given the impressive performances of both players during their stints away from north London.
Greek central defender Mavropanos has become a fan favourite at German outfit Stuttgart and was even nominated Bundesliga Rookie of the Month in February of this year.
Stuttgart originally paid a €500,000 loan fee for the 23-year-old defender, though the deal contains an obligation to buy him for €3million (£2.5m) next summer.
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However, that obligation becomes void if Stuttgart are relegated from the Bundesliga – unlikely given they currently sit 13th, but not impossible.
Providing Stuttgart fail to meet their objectives, they can still activate an option to buy Mavropanos.
The Bundesliga outfit’s chief scout Sven Mislintat – formerly of Arsenal, has issued an update on his future.
“In both cases we would have the chance to take him. I think it’s relatively clear what’s going to happen to him,” said the German talent spotter.
The situation surrounding divisive midfielder Guendouzi is significantly clearer – Marseille’s option to buy him will be triggered if they stay up.
The Ligue 1 side will muster up €11m (£9.5m) for the France international – ending his controversial three-year stint as an Arsenal player.
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While displaying obvious talent, Guendouzi has often fallen foul of disciplinary issues during his time under Mikel Arteta at the Emirates.
Arsenal do possess a recall option inserted into Guendouzi’s loan deal with Marseille but are unlikely to activate it barring an injury crisis.
The 22-year-old has enjoyed two loan spells away from the Gunners, the first coming in the Bundesliga last term with Hertha Berlin.
It was in the German capital where Guendouzi’s temperamental issues reared their head yet again – Hertha’s coach Pal Dardai dubbing him ‘rebellious’.
“It’s like he’s in puberty sometimes, rebellious,” he said. “You have to know where the limit is. He has to learn, learn like a beast.”
The Berlin boss later doubled down on his claim and suggested the midfielder acted like someone much younger than his actual age.
A combined figure of £12m for two promising players will do later to quash the theory that Arsenal are a poor selling club.
