Matteo Guendouzi lifts the lid on his departure from Arsenal, denying it was over his infamous dispute with Neal Maupay, as the French midfielder admits he “didn’t have the best relationship with Mikel Arteta”.
Matteo Guendouzi has revealed the real reason for his departure from Arsenal
The midfielder was expelled from the Arsenal team after his dispute with Maupay
The 23-year-old moved permanently to Marseille in the summer.
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Matteo Guendouzi has lifted the lid on his relationship with manager Mikel Arteta and revealed the real reason behind his departure from Arsenal.
The midfielder moved to Marseille for good in the summer after loan spells at the Ligue 1 club and Bundesliga side Hertha.
Arteta banished the 23-year-old from the Arsenal squad in the summer of 2020 following his infamous dispute with Brighton’s Neal Maupay.
Matteo Guendouzi has lifted the lid on his relationship with manager Mikel Arteta at Arsenal
The journalists used this excuse to say that we had a bad relationship and that’s why I stopped playing and left Arsenal. [the Maupay incident]’ Guendouzi told BeIN Sports.
‘No problem. It is a gesture like many in the field. Sometimes there is a lot of tension, a lot of problems on the pitch. In any case, it has nothing to do with all that.
Addressing his time with Arteta, the former Gunner added: “It is true that I did not have the best relationship with him. Beyond that, I always tried to work, I always gave the maximum of myself in training and in matches. I still I play a few matches with him, I still put in great performances.
Guendouzi’s last Arsenal game saw him smother Neal Maupay (left) after a 2-1 loss at Brighton
I preferred other players and I respect that decision. That’s why later I also decided to leave because I was still young, I needed game time to keep progressing. The most important thing when you are young is to play.
Much was expected of the Frenchman in England, who appeared to be one of Arsenal’s all-time great bargains at just £8m.
Unai Emery relied on him for more than 50 matches for his dynamism, outspokenness and connection with the fans, with the midfielder in top form at the start of his second season from mid-2019.
Guendouzi stood out with Unai Emery (right), who played him regularly for 18 months.
He dazzled during home games against Tottenham and Aston Villa during Emery’s final months in charge, providing quality assists and being a bright spark amid some poor results.
But Emery’s sacking at the end of November 2019 set in motion Guendouzi’s decline at the club.
Mikel Arteta came on and gave the Frenchman a chance, a chance that was taken from him at the end of a campaign that started brilliantly.
Since then, Guendouzi’s career has gone from strength to strength at French side Marseille.
The Frenchman started Arsenal’s first two games after the coronavirus break – defeats to Manchester City and Brighton – and that was the last time Gunners fans saw him in rojiblanco.
Indeed, Guendouzi’s last singular moment at Arsenal came when he throttled Brighton striker Neal Maupay at the final whistle, in a match in which the Seagulls man inflicted a serious injury on Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno before scoring. the winning goal in stoppage time.
Arteta dropped the young midfielder immediately and although the Arsenal manager refused to go into detail as to why he was dropped, it was clear that attitude and discipline were at the heart of the dispute.
Guendouzi’s career has gone from strength to strength since his departure from Arsenal and he is now in contention for a place in France’s squad for the upcoming World Cup next month.