Matteo Guendouzi insists he’s not going to change for anyone, despite questions about his attitude and behaviour in the past.
Speaking on French TV, Guendouzi says he hasn’t changed since his days with FC Lorient, and he has no intentions to do so in the future with Arsenal.
“I did not change. I’ve always stayed the same, I’ve always been myself and I’m not going to change,” Guendouzi said. “I’m still young, I’m only 19 years old so I still have things to learn. But that’s what allowed me to be today at Arsenal and to join the France Espoirs team (u21s).
“If I did not have that personality, I would not be there. I’m going to stay as I am, whether you like it or not.”
Attitude problems?
The questions around Guendouzi’s attitude stem from a spell in the 2016/17 season at Lorient, when he played under manager Bernard Casoni. Guendouzi started a cup game against Nice on January 8th 2017, and he was booked early on. However, he kept flying into challenges, and the referee warned he’d have to send him off if it continued.
Lorient manager Casoni didn’t want to risk a red card, so he withdrew Guendouzi after 55 minutes, but the then 17-year-old wasn’t happy about it. He stormed off, refusing to shake his manager’s hand, and he only made one appearance for the rest of the season.
Former Lorient vice-president Alex Hayes said of the falling out: “He (Guendouzi) believes so much in himself that he is outraged with anyone who doesn’t place him on the same pedestal that he believes he should be placed on.
“He has real issues with that side of his temperament. He is not a bad kid, he’s not nasty, he’s just got an innate, deep belief in himself.”
The midfielder then had similar problems under new manager Mickael Landreau in 2017/18. After forcing his way into the team and having a good run of games, Guendouzi fell out with Landreau at half-time in a match against Valenciennes. Once again, he spent a long spell on the sidelines, three months out of the squad completely.
‘He eats football, drinks football, sleeps football’
Before Casoni and Landreau took over at Lorient, Sylvain Ripoll gave Guendouzi his debut at the club. Ripoll made a point of noting just how driven the midfielder is to achieve his goals in football.
“He loves football, he eats football, drinks football, sleeps football,” Ripoll said. “He would be frustrated when training ended, even after two hours. If he has one more hour, he will be practicing with the ball, right foot, left foot, right foot, left foot. He has a big personality, and that is a rare personality for a young player.”
Perhaps this is the truth of the matter, that Guendouzi just wants to prove himself. He loves playing football so much that he can’t stand to be watching on from the sidelines every week. As he says himself, if he didn’t have this personality, maybe he wouldn’t be where he is today.
Hopefully, Guendouzi’s taken at least some life lessons from his past experiences, so he doesn’t have to repeat the same long absences from the team with Arsenal. So far, the midfielder’s contribution to the team has certainly been a positive one.