Mikel Arteta’s arrival at Arsenal has worked out well for the club. The Gunners missed out on a good finish in the league but won the FA Cup and Community Shield.
The Spaniard has proved to be an excellent appointment. Arteta has brought the best out of multiple players but his demands about attitude have cost a few players a place in his squad.
One such player is Matteo Guendouzi. The French midfielder was one of Unai Emery’s first names on the team sheet when he was Arsenal boss.
The former Lorient man featured regularly under Arteta as well but his actions in one game changed everything – his altercation with compatriot Neal Maupay in Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton in June.
The Frenchman hasn’t played a single minute for the Gunners since and it seemed Arsenal would try to sell him in this transfer window.
However, Arteta revealed in a press conference recently everyone would be given a fresh start. He claimed what Guendouzi did in the past didn’t matter any more and he would be given the same opportunities as everyone else in the squad. (Telegraph)
That offers a golden opportunity for the young midfielder and it looks as though he has accepted Arteta’s invitation to fight for a place again. Guendouzi took to Twitter after captaining France under-21s to victory and claimed he was heading straight back to work at Arsenal.
Arsenal are short in central midfield. Lucas Torreira seems to have one foot out the door already, while there have been no new signings yet. Granit Xhaka and Dani Ceballos will be Arteta’s preferred engine room with Mohamed Elneny the only other experienced back-up.
If Guendouzi can convince Arteta he’ll put his head down and work hard, the Frenchman could be allowed to be part of the squad again. That could save Arsenal millions in the transfer window – a huge positive in the current financial climate.
Arsenal fans were delighted to see him tweet about potentially returning to the club again. Here’s how some of them reacted on Twitter.
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