In a classic case of making a story out of nothing, rumours started to build in recent weeks that Arsenal were planning to recall Matteo Guendouzi from his loan to Hertha BSC.
It all started with the Mirror, who reported that Mikel Arteta had been informed he had the option to recall Guendouzi this month. Bild (perhaps deliberately) misinterpreted this as the English outlet expecting Arteta to activate that option.
From there, the social media talk of a return grew until TheAFCBell tweeted that sources close to the player had denied the reports. Guendouzi plans to complete the remainder of the season with Hertha, and it doesn’t seem Arsenal intend to stop him.
Hertha managing director Michael Preetz recently claimed nothing will be formally agreed upon for the player’s long-term future until June, saying: “No decision will be made before the end of the season.”
Guendouzi had made a strong start in Germany at first, playing a positive role in the Hertha midfield and even scoring two goals and assisting one in his first 10 appearances. However, he had a real off-game in the 1-0 defeat to Arminia Bielefeld at the weekend.
It seems he has plenty of time to get back in form in the second half of the season with the Bundesliga side.
