After losing the race for Filipe Melo to Juventus, Arsenal turned their attention to Blaise Matuidi, or as the French call him, ‘next Makelele’.
The 22-year-old player came to prominence thanks to impressive displays for Saint Etienne and considering that he rejected the offer to extend his contract, which runs out in 2011, Matuidi is likely to join Arsenal very soon.
His father has Angolan origin, whereas his mother was born in France. Matuidi started playing football in a private football academy and he played for Creteil in Ligue 2 at just 16 years of age. Good performances earned him a transfer to Troyes, where he made a lot of progress under coach Jean-Marc Furlan.
After a couple of years in Troyes, he joined more ambitious Saint Etienne, where he managed to earn a starting berth and attracted a lot of attention with impressive performances.
Matuidi is a vintage holding midfielder, a bit taller than Makelele. He is a tireless midfielder who does a tremendous amount of work in defence, but is also a good technician. Statistics show that he constantly leads the team in distance covered and number of interceptions in a match.
The 22-year-old Matuidi has already amassed 127 appearances in Ligue 1 and that is really impressive. He was regular part of the starting 11 last season, when Les Verts narrowly escaped relegation.
It is now time for a new challenge and Wenger could get a lot of quality for the low price. Premiership suits Matuidi’s style of play and he would have no problems adapting. He has also played a lot of games for France Under 21 national team and played with Saint Etienne in UEFA Cup last season, thus he doesn’t lack international experience.
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a player that will fit really well in the english premier league