Arsenal set for Matteo Guendouzi showdown talks after being exiled from first-team - 7M sport

Arsenal set for Matteo Guendouzi showdown talks after being exiled from first-team

Matteo Guendouzi's future at Arsenal is in major doubt.


Posted Tuesday, July 07, 2020 by Express.co.uk

Matteo Guendouzi is set for crunch talks with Arsenal after being told to train away from the first-team squad due to an alleged poor attitude. Since arriving in the summer of 2018, Guendouzi has been a regular in the first-team despite his inexperience.

The young midfielder was well-liked by former manager Unai Emery but Mikel Arteta has demanded greater discipline from the Arsenal players.

Guendouzi upset Arteta over an alleged incident during their warm-weather training visit to Dubai.

And the 21-year-old fell foul of Arteta again when he lost his head during the 2-1 defeat to Brighton last month.

That match was Guendouzi's last appearance for Arsenal with Arteta stating his absence was an internal issue.

Arsenal set for Matteo Guendouzi showdown talks after being exiled from first-team
Matteo Guendouzi clashed with Brighton's Neal Maupay

But according to The Athletic, Guendouzi has been excluded by Arteta from training with the first team and told to train alone with a fitness coach, with a return unlikely unless an apology is made.

The report says Arsenal are considering whether to use Guendouzi as part of a swap deal in the transfer window with talks to be held in the coming days about his future.

The issue with Guendouzi comes as Arsenal prepare to face Leicester on Tuesday night.

The Gunners are nine points behind the Foxes and need a win to close the gap in the race to qualify for next season's Champions League.

Speaking ahead of the match, Arteta said he was expecting a difficult game from Brendan Rodgers' men.

He said: "I think Brendan and his staff have completely changed the style of play and the way they approach the games.

"It's very clear what they are trying to do. They are very dominant. They're one of the teams that has better possession in very difficult areas as well.

"In the Premier League, they've been really consistent - even though they've had some difficulties in the last few weeks - but since they joined, they completely changed the way they are playing and I think they proved against big teams as well that they're going to sustain that influence against the stronger teams as well. Credit to them for what they've done.

"I think we have to win every game and then wait and pray. It's not about winning one game. I think we need to go game-by-game.

"A few weeks ago, we were really far from even thinking about Europe and now we are a little bit closer at the moment.

"So let's go game-by-game and see where it takes us."



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