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5 young Arsenal players that will excel in 2019

By Kian Long

KIEV, UKRAINE - NOVEMBER 29: Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock of Arsenal line up before the UEFA Europa League Group E match between Vorskla Poltava and Arsenal at Oleksiy Butovsky Vorskla Stadium on November 29, 2018 in Poltava, Ukraine. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
KIEV, UKRAINE - NOVEMBER 29: Eddie Nketiah and Joe Willock of Arsenal line up before the UEFA Europa League Group E match between Vorskla Poltava and Arsenal at Oleksiy Butovsky Vorskla Stadium on November 29, 2018 in Poltava, Ukraine. (Photo by David Price/Arsenal FC via Getty Images) /
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SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 16: Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal celebrates during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Arsenal FC at St Mary’s Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Offside/Getty Images)
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 16: Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal celebrates during the Premier League match between Southampton FC and Arsenal FC at St Mary’s Stadium on December 16, 2018 in Southampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Offside/Getty Images) /

3. Matteo Guendouzi (19 years old)

The young Frenchman that joined from Lorient didn’t expect to turn heads, but that’s what he’s done. He has been one of Arsenal’s best players this season, getting off to an excellent start. He excelled in his first two matches in particular, which is impressive considering they were against the two former champions in Manchester City and Chelsea. Since then, his form has tailed off a bit but he’s still been solid and he looks like an exciting prospect for the future.

He has become used to not being in the starting XI consistently, due to the rise in importance of fellow midfielder Lucas Torreira. However, Guendouzi is always reliable when he’s called upon, which is a lot this season. According to WhoScored, Guendouzi has made 22 appearances for the Gunners this season, starting in 16 of those.

This is quite the record, considering he was signed to be one for the future. He impressed in pre-season, which made Unai Emery more inclined to start him. He began with impressing in the passing department, however, he has since shown that there is a lot more to his game.

I would still say that he’s more defensive than offensive, but he does have the ability to push forward. His composure when taking on shots could do with some improvement, but there’s plenty of time to improve that. Besides, he did score against Qarabag earlier in the season.

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