Growing from strength to strength as the games go by, Mattéo Guendouzi is quickly becoming one of the first names on Unai Emery’s team sheet at Arsenal.
Called up as an emergency after Paul Pogba’s injury during the last international break, the young midfielder has, this time, returned to France’s U21 squad to face Azerbaijan and Slovakia in the 2021 Euro qualifiers.
Currently at Clairefontaine with the rest of the team, the player was asked a few questions by the media, relayed by Foot Mercato, about his situation at Arsenal, and his relationship with Emery.
He said: “We communicate a lot in training, in games on what I can bring on the pitch or in my personal life. He’s someone who’s taught me a lot on and off the pitch. I know he trusts me a lot because I’ve started all the games in the Premier League since the start of the season.
Matteo Guendouzi sur Unai Emery « Aujourd’hui, il me donne pleinement confiance à Arsenal. C’est vraiment lui qui me fait me sentir bien sur le terrain » pic.twitter.com/bXpmIW5f2R
— Foot Mercato (@footmercato) October 7, 2019
“It’s then up to me to stay myself, play well and repay that trust. He’s the one who gave me the opportunity at the highest level. I already played a lot last year. He gives me a lot of confidence and he’s the one who makes me feel good on the pitch. There’s also my teammates, who are a big part of that, but he’s really, really made me progress since I arrived at Arsenal”.
The 20-year-old already has two assists to his name this season with the Premier League side in nine appearances and appears to have pushed his competition for a starting role, Lucas Torreira, firmly to one side for now.
Whether that continues throughout the campaign will depend on Guendouzi, who will need to keep up the good work in order to continue his run of starts, but the way he speaks of his relationship with Emery and the trust the Spaniard has in him, it seems it’ll take a lot for him to drop out of the team.
