ARSENAL outcast Matteo Guendouzi has been labelled “a pain on a daily basis” by one of his former managers.
The French midfielder also has an “oversized ego” according to ex-Lorient manager Mickael Landreau.
Matteo Guendouzi is on loan from Arsenal at Hertha BerlinCredit: AP:Associated Press
Mickael Landreau managed Matteo Guendouzi at LorientCredit: Icon Sport – Getty
Guendouzi, 21, is currently on loan at Hertha Berlin after being exiled from the Gunners by Mikel Arteta.
The midfielder joined Arsenal from Lorient in 2018 but has been frozen out after a number of incidents.
The final straw proved to be a run-in with Brighton’s Neal Maupay in June when he grabbed the Seagull around the neck.
Guendouzi is also alleged to have mocked the salaries of Brighton players and was given repeated chances to apologise for his conduct but refused.
And Landreau, who managed Guendouzi at Lorient, told Canal+: “I think he needs to be in the spotlight, to be a leader. He needs to be a captain or vice-captain, and he will try to make the most of it.
“Because that’s the way he is. And that means that his teammates have to accept him the way he is, because he’s a pain on a daily basis.
“He’s a pain on a daily basis, but on the other hand, he’s talented.”
Former goalkeeper Landreau made over 600 appearances in France for Nantes, PSG, Lille and Bastia before retiring in 2014.
The midfielder refused to apologise for grabbing Brighton’s Neal Maupay around the neckCredit: Getty Images – Getty
Guendouzi in action for France against Switzerland this weekCredit: Getty Images – Getty
But Hertha Berlin boss Michel Preetz says Guendouzi has ‘enriched’ the club since joining on loan last month.
Sporting director Preetz told German outlet Kicker: “Three months ago, Matteo’s loan signing wasn’t possible, but it was at the beginning of October.
“We are happy that he is here and that he enriched our game from the start.
“We’ll see everything else next summer. How the prices will develop by then and what Arsenal are planning then, nobody can say today.”
Former Arsenal striker Kevin Campbell believes Guendouzi should look for a permanent way out, as he’s not convinced he has a future at the Emirates.
He told Football Insider: “I do not think he will play for Arsenal again.
“He doesn’t have a future at Arsenal. Mikel Arteta put him in detention after the Brighton game last season, that is what it was – detention.
“A manager like Arteta wants to see that you can toe the line, take your punishment, keep your trap shut and get working. Guendouzi could not do it.
“He was given a clean slate at the start of the season, like Mesut Ozil, but they did not toe the line.
“Arteta is strong enough to exclude players he cannot trust. When a manager cannot trust you he is not going to back you.
“The good thing is they got him out on loan because you cannot afford to have ill-disciplined players like that in and around the club. The right thing was to get him out on loan.”
Arsenal player Matteo Guendouzi seals loan transfers away to Hertha Berlin
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
