Matteo Guendouzi made it into L’Equipe’s Team of the Week for the most recent round of fixtures, as Marseille defeated Rennes 2-0.

joie - Matteo Guendouzi Olympique de Marseille - Gerson Santos Da Silva Olympique de Marseille- Luan Peres Olympique de Marseille FOOTBALL : Olympique de Marseille vs AS Saint Etienne - Ligue 1 Uber Eats - Marseille - 28/08/2021 NorbertScanella/PanoramiC
Matteo Guendouzi – Olympique de Marseille – Gerson Santos Da Silva – Luan Peres. Olympique de Marseille vs AS Saint Etienne – Ligue 1 Uber Eats – Marseille – 28/08/2021. NorbertScanella / PanoramiC

Arsenal loanees Matteo Guendouzi and William Saliba have both been regular fixtures in the Marseille team ever since joining in the summer, and this weekend’s fixture against Rennes was no exception.

Guendouzi took up a position on the left of midfield, whilst Saliba started on the right of a back three, and together they helped their side to a third consecutive league win.

Marseille are now up to second in the table, five points behind Paris Saint-Germain with a game in hand. To bet on them to continue their winning run, visit thienhabet.

Guendouzi completed 91% of his passes on the day, including five of six long balls. He won five of his seven individual duels and hit the woodwork, playing 78 minutes.

All of that was enough to earn him a spot in L’Equipe’s Team of the Week, as they gave him a rating of 7, representing a “bon match”.

L’Equipe highlighted Guendouzi’s zero fouls committed, the three free-kicks he won, two ball recoveries, and 71% duels won as the reasoning behind his inclusion.

Matteo Guendouzi signing for Marseille (Photo via OM.fr)
Matteo Guendouzi signing for Marseille (Photo via OM.fr)

Guendouzi recently received a call-up to the French senior national team, after Corentin Tolisso had to pull out with an injury.

France had a couple of injury problems ahead of their opening game of the international break. Tolisso picked up a calf problem and had to pull out to be replaced, with Guendouzi getting a shot in his absence.

Called up too late to feature against Bosnia & Herzegovina, the 22-year-old made the bench against Ukraine and Finland. In the end, he didn’t get onto the pitch, but it feels like a step closer after his non-appearance in all of France’s other squads since 2019.

The call-up made sense, as Guendouzi had started the season in strong form. Immediately leading up to the international break, the midfielder had a goal and an assist in his last two fixtures against Bordeaux and Saint-Etienne.

The loan hasn’t been without controversy, which always seems to follow Guendouzi around wherever he goes. In this case, the most controversial moment came in Marseille’s match against Nice.

A fan invasion led to an on-field brawl, and Guendouzi came away with markings on his neck. The chairman of Nice, Jean-Pierre Rivère, claimed there were no markings before the player left the pitch, and questioned whether they were genuine injuries.