Sunderland have reportedly opened talks with Lazio over a potential move for former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, six years after his turbulent falling-out with Mikel Arteta ended his time in north London.
The Premier League side’s head coach Régis Le Bris first hinted at the possibility of a reunion with the France international last month, having previously worked with him at Lorient, and journalist Sacha Tavolieri now reports that formal contact has been made with Lazio over a January deal.
“I worked with him previously in Lorient, so we stay connected. But at the moment, it’s too early to speak about the January transfer window,” Le Bris said in November when first asked about Guendouzi.
Now 26, Guendouzi has continued his career in Italy with Lazio after leaving Marseille, where he made 103 appearances following an initial loan from Arsenal. This season he has already featured 13 times in Serie A, scoring twice, and Lazio are understood to value him at around €25m.
That valuation once peaked at £45m during his final months under Unai Emery at Arsenal, before it collapsed almost overnight following Arteta’s arrival.
After arriving in London, Guendouzi had played 48 matches in his debut season and featured in every league game of Emery’s second campaign, but once Arteta was appointed in December 2019, his role diminished rapidly. He completed 90 minutes under Arteta just three times and was excluded from the matchday squad for the final eight league fixtures of the season.
The decisive rupture came in June 2020 at Brighton, after Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat. Guendouzi clashed with Neal Maupay at full time and later faced allegations, never formally proven, that he taunted Brighton players over wages.
A Daily Mail source claimed at the time: “He was saying the Brighton players were s**t and that he and his teammates earn so much more than they ever will. Arsenal are a decent club and hate that sort of behaviour.”
Behind the scenes, tensions had already been brewing. David Ornstein later revealed a training-ground altercation during a Dubai camp that led to Guendouzi being disciplined by Arteta and Edu, with his conduct off the pitch also questioned.
From that point on, he never played for Arsenal again.
Arteta later spoke repeatedly about his non-negotiable standards and Guendouzi’s relationship with authority had previously been questioned in France. Former Arsenal and Lorient forward Jérémie Aliadière told Le Télégramme: “After, during my last season in Lorient, when he started to train with us and to play, I had a little question about his attitude. I said to myself: He’ll have to change a bit.”
His subsequent loan at Hertha Berlin brought further mixed reviews. Then manager Pál Dárdai said: “It’s like puberty for him, he’s kind of a rebel. He has to work and learn like an animal.” Yet Hertha sporting director Arne Friedrich praised his mentality: “He’s a fantastic player. He’s so calm. He wants every single ball, even under pressure.”
Guendouzi himself later acknowledged mistakes made under Arteta, though he remains unapologetic about his time in England. Speaking to The Athletic, he said: “I didn’t work with Arteta a lot, I only had six months. I was 19, so I was learning every day. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I did when I was 19.”
He added: “I have no regrets about what I did at Arsenal. I was 19 and I went on to play 85 games in two years. 85 games for a big club like Arsenal is a lot.”