‘I have no regrets about Arsenal’ – Mattéo Guendouzi reflects on his time in the Premier League | OneFootball

In an interview with The Athletic, Lazio midfielder Mattéo Guendouzi (24) reflects on his time in the Premier League with Arsenal.

The Marseille loanee made a real impression when he first joined the Gunners from Lorient in 2019. Guendouzi was an unknown prospect when he arrived from Lorient who were a Ligue 2 side at the time of his transfer to the North London club. The France international cost Arsenal €8m.

When asked about his time at Arsenal, Guendouzi said, “I have no regrets about what I did at Arsenal. I was 19 and I went on to play 85 games in two years. Eighty-five games for a big club like Arsenal is a lot.” The 24-year-old was influential in his first year at the Emirates but upon the arrival of Mikel Arteta at Arsenal his game time became limited and he was relegated to the bench.

This was followed by Guendouzi being removed from the matchday squad altogether due to an incident with Neal Maupay (27) against Brighton – this would be his last game for the club. Commenting on the incident the Lazio man said, “A lot of things can happen on the pitch and sometimes some players say some things you don’t accept and that’s why we had some problems when we played this game against Brighton.”

Italy is different

Since leaving England, Guendozui has made a real impact at Marseille before being loaned out to Lazio after a difficult spell with Les Olympiens. The midfielder has spoken about the playing style in Italy, “Italy is more about the tactical side of the game. In France, Germany and England it’s more about offensive football, there’s more space to play — but in Italy, it’s more difficult to score because the teams are very organised. Each game is very difficult. That’s why it’s very difficult to qualify for next season’s Champions League.”

GFFN | Liam Wraith