As Pierre-Emerick Abameyang conspired to miss chances against Chelsea he’s been scoring since he could walk, Matteo Guendouzi continued to cement his place as an Arsenal fans’ favourite with his reaction to one of the forward’s howlers.
The 19-year-old, whom many expected to play a cup role, at most, this season, has been handed starts in both Premier League games to date. When the time has come for Unai Emery to change things, he has left the youngster on the pitch, removing more senior and experienced players instead.
Although he has made a few mistakes, his passion and desire to get around the pitch, coupled with a genuine ability to play football, make a tackle and pass the ball, has seen him hailed by Arsenal fans as the signing of the summer so far.
This reaction will have only helped enhance his reputation amongst fans:
Video: Guendouzi's reaction to Aubameyang's miss. #Arsenal pic.twitter.com/kLmUpSvBB0
— Gurjit (@GurjitAFC) August 18, 2018
Watching him beat the ground as Auba missed, I couldn’t help but be reminded of Francis Coquelin and how he used to get on when something went against Arsenal. The difference here, of course, is that Guendouzi actually seems good enough to warrant his place in the Arsenal team.
Guendouzi was the third-highest rated player for Arsenal against Chelsea on Sunday, only behind Arsenal MotM Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who grabbed a goal and an assist, and Petr Cech who kept the scoreline respectable.
Only Pedro recorded a better pass completion rate out of the players who started but at 94.1% v 93.9%, there was little between them.
Guendouzi also made four tackles and four interceptions – more than any other player on the pitch in either category. That was also the same number of interceptions the entire Arsenal backline combined made and only one less tackle than Bellerin, Mustafi, Sokratis, and Monreal managed together.
After the game, Aubameyang tweeted about his missed chances.
Today i missed tomorrow Must Be better !!
— Aubameyang P-E (@Aubameyang7) August 18, 2018