Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta can copy Pep Guardiola with Mendy decision

Arsenal boss Arteta discusses pressures of title race

If Mikel Arteta has learned anything from his mentor Pep Guardiola during his time at Manchester City, it is that the promise of player improvement can prove to be a handy tool in acquiring top players for cheap fees. The Gunners boss has reportedly set his sights on Real Madrid full-back Ferland Mendy after falling out of favour at the Santiago Bernabeu and the Spanish boss will believe he can help him climb back to the top.

Los Blancos are looking to free up space in their squad to help fund new signings and Mendy is among those who are surplus to requirements. The 27-year-old is out of contract in June 2025 and is said to be valued at £17.5m, with Arsenal now ‘on alert’ according to reports.

It would represent the type of signing Arteta needs to improve the depth in his squad and catch up with Manchester City, having seen his side lose their grip on the title race in recent weeks when coping with injuries.

Acquiring France international Mendy for such a small fee would represent a bargain, and Arteta may be the right man to bring the best out of him – just like Guardiola did with one of his players at the Etihad.

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It wasn’t long ago that City boss Guardiola signed Benjamin Mendy from Monaco for £47million in 2017 after being impressed by his work with Monaco in the Champions League.

The left-back had raw talent but needed some fine tuning before he could be considered a finished article, and when he was fit to play, he proved to be one of the best wing-backs in the Premier League. Now, after watching Guardiola handle Mendy in his early years as an assistant at City, Arteta can go down a similar path with Mendy’s namesake.

Ferland Mendy has lost his place in Carlo Ancelotti’s side in Spain after Eduardo Camavinga proved to be a stellar deputy when he was out injured, and he has struggled to win back his spot.

But as shown in their previous Champions League success in 2022, he can be a world beater with the right manager guiding him.

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There are some questions over whether Oleksandr Zinchenko can continue at left-back after a recent dip in form, with the Ukrainian dropped from the team against Brighton.

Likewise, Kieran Tierney could be encouraged to move on after playing a backup role this season, with the Scottish defender certainly good enough to get regular football elsewhere but too injury-prone to rely on as a rotational squad member.

It means Arteta may need to bring in another left-back and Mendy, blessed with an abundance of pace and energy, would suit their system brilliantly. It could also allow Zinchenko to explore moving into midfield while Arsenal look to sign another central midfielder, with the likes of Declan Rice and Moises Caicedo on their shopping list this summer.

And while it may not be the transformative signing that Gabriel Jesus or Martin Odegaard were in 2021 and 2022, it shows that Arsenal and Arteta can attract the best players if they can sign stars from Real – and that will only improve their chances elsewhere in the transfer market.

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