Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has credited manager Unai Emery for his development over the last twelve months at the Gunners. The Frenchman joined from French second division side Lorient for £7m a year ago but has now got his first senior call up for France.

When he arrived at the Emirates, the 20-year-old wasn’t expected to be playing straight away, but he went on to make 48 appearances last season. Guendouzi has revealed that Emery has helped him improve his tactical knowledge and has said the Arsenal boss is putting a lot of faith in him:

“Whether it’s defensively, with the ball and without it, the manager wanted me to work on a lot of things. At a tactical level, I felt I progressed a lot. I managed to make myself important in the team.”

“It’s something I really wanted to do. The manager told me he knew that I would be a key part of his team this year. That’s what I’ve managed to do so far.”

We mentioned in an article last week how Emery isn’t being given enough credit for youth development since he was appointed at the London club, and this latest quote from Guendouzi backs up what we already know.

Considering his job is on the line, it is surprising how prepared the Spaniard is to take risks on younger players, and the development of Guendouzi shows he is getting results.