This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
Matteo Guendouzi doesn’t appear to know what kind of midfielder he wants to be.
On the chalkboard
Arsenal fell to a dispiriting 2-0 defeat to Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Saturday, leaving them on a four-game winless run in the Premier League.
There are numerous issues with the club but one that stuck out like a sore thumb against the Foxes was Guendouzi.
The Frenchman, it must be said, has been ever-present in the league thus far this term, making 12 out of 12 starts.
He is just 20 and is clearly trusted by his manager, Unai Emery.
Yet he was caught between a rock and a hard place versus Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Per WhoScored, he had 69 touches of the ball, the third-highest of any Gunners player. He clocked a pass completion rate of 94% and completed two dribbles.
Yet he was not played in an attacking midfield role. That was reserved for Mesut Ozil, who played in the hole behind Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Partnered with Lucas Torreira, Guendouzi appeared to be given licence to carry the ball forward but he did not do it with any confidence.
Indeed, he was dispossessed three times, did not complete a tackle, was dribbled past on three occasions and failed to have a shot on goal.
A victim of muddled thinking
This is a problem for Emery to solve.
Lucas Torreira, the defensive-minded player in that midfield, made only one tackle throughout the 90 minutes as Leicester’s power and flair overwhelmed the Gunners.
He was also dispossessed twice.
Thus, making Guendouzi the roaming midfielder, the player able to pick the ball up and run, driving his team forward, seems reckless at best.
He has not been given the proper support network to be able to do it effectively and, really, he needs more help.
Either the youngster is played further forward – probably at the expense of Ozil – or he is coached into a defensive midfielder.
He is young enough and malleable enough for that to be a possibility but, right now, he is neither an attacking nor a defensive midfielder. He must make a decision in the future on what he wants to be.