On Monday, L’Equipe reported that Hervé Renard, the current Morocco national team manager, hadn’t given up on trying to convince Matteo Guendouzi from switching allegiances after the midfielder’s France U21s debut.
It seemed like a futile effort considering the Arsenal youngster had already made it clear he wanted to play for France, but it was one the former Lille coach was prepared to make in early 2019 regardless.
Well, it didn’t take long for Guendouzi to respond as, asked by Le Late Football Club on Canal+ in France, he basically told Renard to not bother with his latest statement on the matter.
He said: “As I’ve said, my goal has always been the France national team. I’ve always played with their youth teams. It’s a dream to play for the first-team and I hope to get there. It really is a dream. I’m going to do everything to achieve that”.
Arriving from Lorient in the summer, Guendouzi surprised many by forcing his way into Unai Emery’s first-team at the Emirates this season, starting the first few games of the season after some good pre-season performances.
With Lucas Torreira now acclimatised to Premier League football, his game time may have diminished a little, but he remains active enough to have earned himself his first call up to France’s U21s over this international period.
Maybe it’s time for Hervé Renard to give up.
