Arsenal transfer target Ayyoub Bouaddi is likely to have impressed Mikel Arteta with what he does off the pitch as well as on it.
The 18-year-old doesn’t eat fast food, has never owned a PlayStation, and didn’t set up an Instagram account until May this year — and only then because he was about to represent Morocco at a World Cup.
He currently has 1.8 million followers and has posted nine times.
According to a detailed profile by The Athletic, Bouaddi’s dedication to performance away from football borders on the extraordinary.
He obsessed over his sleep and nutrition before he was a teenager, and his youth coaches recall him refusing burgers at post-tournament meals while his teammates queued up.
👀 NAME a BETTER midfield target for Arsenal than Ayyoub Bouaddi… I bet you CAN’T…
🌟 The 18-year-old looked so good vs Brazil's at the World Cup!
The Lille midfielder even won an eloquence competition for young French footballers at the Elysee Palace when he was 15, delivering a speech in front of Brigitte Macron.
He also obtained his scientific baccalaureat a year ahead of schedule and is currently studying towards a mathematics degree at the University of Marseille.
Mikel Arteta will love every word of this.
Mikel Arteta will be a big fan of Ayyoub Bouaddi’s character
Ever since Arteta joined the club, he has stressed the importance of doing background checks on a player’s personality and character as part of the club’s recruitment process.
Data has already linked Bouaddi’s playing profile to former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, but the two couldn’t be more different as people.
Guendouzi was eventually moved on after a series of attitude and discipline issues that Arteta deemed incompatible with the culture he was building.
Nuno Tavares was another who never quite bought into the standards required. Both are long gone.
Bouaddi’s mentality is quite the opposite of that. The Athletic report that senior players immediately appreciated him because “he knew where his place was”, and he didn’t come in thinking he had already made it.
Benjamin Andre, Lille’s 35-year-old experienced captain, took him under his wing almost immediately.
Gunners legend Patrick Vieira recently described Bouaddi as “really impressive” and notices a maturity that belies his age.
His coaches at every level have said the same thing. He is, in every sense, a 20-year-old veteran in an 18-year-old’s body.
Where Arsenal stand in the race for Ayyoub Bouaddi
Arsenal have been tracking Bouaddi closely for months, but it’s their title rivals Manchester City who currently appear to be ahead in the race.
With the Gunners primarily focused on securing Bruno Guimaraes as their midfield priority, Bouaddi has been put on the backburner for now.
💰 Bruno Guimaraes is turning 29 in November and has TWO years left on his contract… How much should Arsenal pay to sign him?
But losing him to City would sting. Arsenal have already been gazumped by City for Jeremy Monga.
Allowing them to take another player this exciting and talented with this kind of mental profile would be a huge blow, particularly one whose character fits Arteta’s requirements so perfectly.
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