Sky Sports Reporter Believes New Signing Dharmesh Sheth as 'an Investment in the Future'

Sky Sports News reporter Dharmesh Sheth has described new Arsenal signing Matteo Guendouzi as 'an investment in the future' rather than a player who has been signed in order to make an instant impact on the first team.

The 19-year-old midfielder, who has represented France at under-20 level, joined the Gunners from French outfit Lorient last week for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £8m.

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Guendouzi has already made his first appearance in an Arsenal shirt in a pre-season friendly against Boreham Wood, but Sheth believes fans of the club will need to be patient if they are to see the best of the player's ability.

Speaking to the Transfer Talk podcast (via the Sport Review), Sheth said: “It is an investment in the future rather than a ready-made midfielder like [Lucas] Torreira.

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“We think a fee of £8m was agreed with Lorient.”

Guendouzi is one of five signings Arsenal have made already this summer as new manager Unai Emery looks to rebuild the squad left behind by Arsene Wenger.

Stephan Lichtsteiner, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lucas Torreira and Bernd Leno have all signed for the club alongside Guendouzi, brining a combination of experience and youth which Emery will hope will give more balance and grit to his squad in order to qualify for the Champions League.

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Arsenal have finished outside the top four in both of the last two Premier League seasons, something which Emery will hope to solve sooner rather than later if he is to survive at the club.

However, the signing of Guendouzi shows that Arsenal are not only planning for short-term results but also sustained long-term success.