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Martin Keown wants £8m Arsenal man to stay at the club despite recent criticism

Photo by Tim Keeton/Pool via Getty Images
Photo by Tim Keeton/Pool via Getty Images
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BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - JUNE 20: Referee Martin Atkinson speaks to Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal FC at American Express Community Stadium on June 20, 2020 in Brighton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Gareth Fuller/Pool via Getty Images)
Photo by Gareth Fuller/Pool via Getty Images

Martin Keown has stated that he would like Matteo Guendouzi to be ‘given another chance’ at Arsenal, as he told Stadium Astro.

Following his altercation with Brighton’s Neal Maupay last month, Guendouzi hasn’t featured for Arsenal and it does seem as though his career at the Emirates Stadium is on the line.

The Daily Mail previously suggested that Arsenal would be willing to sell their midfielder if they could get a sizeable offer for him – it’s also suggested that he has been training alone since that Brighton match

But Keown wants the Frenchman to stay and thinks Mikel Arteta’s recent stance is a message to all.

“It’s about him now knuckling down and working hard,” Keown told Stadium Astro. “You get a second chance, of course, you do, and everyone deserves that.

“But it’s more about the message to the younger players. The Martinelli’s and the Saka’s. If you look at Kieran Tierney, the guy is so modest and so humble.

“Maybe he has just got things in the wrong order, Guendouzi and Arteta is just making him take a step back before he takes two steps forward. But I’d like the player to be given another chance. But that’s up to the manager.”

BRIGHTON, ENGLAND - JUNE 20: Davy Propper of Brighton and Hove Albion is challenged by Matteo Guendouzi and Alexandre Lacazette of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Brighton & Hove Albion and Arsenal FC at American Express Community Stadium on June 20, 2020 in Brighton, England. Football Stadiums around Europe remain empty due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in all fixtures being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

The Gunners signed Guendouzi as an unknown figure during the summer of 2018 from French Ligue 2 side Lorient [Sky Sports].

He impressed many within the Emirates Stadium despite not coming from a top league and big things were expected of him.

And whilst he can still prove his worth in the near future, his future in North London is seemingly on the rocks and a big couple of weeks await him.