Used often by Unai Emery at Arsenal, Mattéo Guendouzi didn’t enjoy the same game time under Mikel Arteta.
The Frenchman, who left the Gunners on loan to Marseille last year (the move has since been made permanent), never appeared to fully get on with the current manager at the Emirates, with the relationship seemingly reaching breaking point after the incident with Neal Maupay in a match against Brighton.
The midfielder was rarely seen in an Arsenal shirt following that, which ultimately led to his first loan to Hertha Berlin and the subsequent transfer to the south of France.
He’s become an integral part of the Ligue 1 side since, and the 23-year-old held an interview with beIN Sports, relayed by Goal France, over the weekend where he touched upon his Gunners exit, and clarified the situation surrounding the Maupay incident in the process.
He said: “Journalists used this excuse to say that we had a bad relationship and that’s why I stopped playing and left Arsenal. Not at all. It’s a gesture like many on the pitch. There’s a lot of tension sometimes, a lot of problems on the pitch. In any case, it has nothing to do with all that.”
As for how he got on with Arteta, Guendouzi admitted: “It’s true that I didn’t have the best relationship with him. Beyond that, I always tried to work, always gave the maximum of myself in training and in matches. I still play a few matches with him, I still did great performances.
“He preferred other players and I respect that decision. That’s why, afterwards, I also decided to leave because I was still young, I needed playing time to continue to progress. The most important when you’re young is to play.”
Goal France point out that last quote was a bit of a ‘dig’ at Arteta from the midfielder, who appears to be in content for a spot in his national team ahead of the current World Cup.
We’ll have to wait and see about that, but it’s clear Guendouzi is really enjoying himself at Marseille, where he has scored seven goals and assisted another 16 in 71 appearances.
By contract, his time at Arsenal can be resumed by a goal and five assists in 82 appearances in all competitions.
