Manchester United are apparently interested in signing Arsenal ‘bad boy’ Matteo Guendouzi this summer after it was claimed that the 21-year-old wants to leave the Emirates this summer feeling that manager Mikel Arteta does not trust him. It is certainly something for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to keep his eye on this summer.
Guendouzi signed for Arsenal from Lorient in the summer of 2018 for a fee in the region of £7 million. The Frenchman was thrust into the spotlight after his antics over the past week with the Premier League returning and Arsenal being beaten 3-0 by Manchester City and 2-1 by Brighton and Hove Albion before beating Southampton 2-0.
Under Arteta, Guendouzi has played just 12 times, playing 13 times before the former City assistant came to the club. It might be something or nothing but with Arsenal and the season they are having, you could not blame him for wanting to leave the club, especially with the club well out of the European places so far this season with all to play for.
In Arsenal’s 2-0 victory over Southampton, Guendouzi was dropped and that seems to have caused a lot of speculation with the player being linked to Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona and now United. It was French news source, L’Equipe that reported United being interested in the player. You cannot blame Solskjaer for keeping his eyes open.
Guendouzi appeared to lose his head last weekend at the Amex, which is where United travel on Tuesday evening on their return to Premier League action after facing Norwich City in the Emirates FA Cup, appearing to lash out at Neal Maupay, who scored the winning goal in the game, also injuring goalkeeper Bernd Leno earlier in the match.
It has also been alleged that Guendouzi had made unsavoury taunts towards the Brighton players because of their salaries. This is nothing new for the 21-year-old who seemingly had egg on his face after a trip to Vicarage Road earlier this season, making a 2-1 gesture as he was substituted, watching Watford equalise later in the match.
There was also an incident with referee Mike Dean during the 2-0 FA Cup victory over Portsmouth with the player sarcastically placing the ball for a free-kick after being wound up by Dean. Arrogance is something that all footballers have, some show it more than others – Guendouzi could be that way inclined. Arteta spoke about his absence this week, saying:
“It was squad management. I don’t like to make any decisions to send messages. The messages that I send to the team or individually are very open and I’m clear with how I feel.
“Winning is the most important thing and when you win, everything is fine. Whatever issue we have internally, I will resolve it in a private way. I explained that I cannot explain and that’s it.”
This season, Guendouzi has played a total of 34 times for Arsenal this season, playing in the Premier League, the UEFA Europa League, the Emirates FA Cup and the Carabao Cup, is yet to score a single goal and has assisted three times. Could he score more goals if trusted by his manager? Guendouzi can play in central midfield and defensive midfield, a position that Solskjaer may need to think about soon.
