MATTEO GUENDOUZI is going through ‘football puberty’, according to his Hertha Berlin manager.
The Arsenal midfielder, 21, was shipped out to the Bundesliga outfit on loan for the season following a series of fall-outs and misdemeanours during his two years at the Emirates.
Matteo Guendouzi has hit football ‘puberty’ and is learning to grow up as a playerCredit: Reuters
But his new boss Pal Dardai is confident he is growing up and maturing as a footballer while recognising his naughty streak.
Dardai told Bild: “It’s like puberty for him, he’s kind of a rebel.
“He has to work and learn like an animal.”
Guendouzi recovered from Covid-19 at the beginning of the season to become an integral member of the team under former boss Bruno Labbadia.
He has featured in every Bundesliga game since making his debut in November – even chipping in with a couple of goals.
But he let himself and the team down on Sunday, gifting RB Leipzig a second goal to kill off the game 20 minutes from time.
Guendouzi dallied on the ball in his own penalty area and, under pressure from an attacker, threw himself to the ground in an attempt to win a free-kick.
But the referee was unmoved and Nordi Mukiele thumped it in.
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Dardai recognised it is an area he needs to work on immediately and added: “In training, I always stop these kind of duels because you can’t fall to the ground like this. And, afterwards, he’s mad.”
The France Under-21 international has not featured for Arsenal since the fateful defeat away at Brighton on June 20.
He scrapped with compatriot Neal Maupay on the pitch and bragged to the Seagulls players over his £40,000-a-week wages.
Before that, Guendouzi was in hot water with Arteta during a mid-season training camp in Dubai where he reportedly got into incidents with club staff, Sokratis and Edu.
And, as revealed by SunSport, the ex-Lorient man is on course to be sold as part of the continued Emirates clear out this summer.
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Pal Dardai is desperate to get the best out of the French midfielderCredit: AFP
Arsenal player Matteo Guendouzi seals loan transfers away to Hertha Berlin
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
