The former Arsenal player earned a reputation for being somewhat flammable in the Emirates Stadium and that theme has been evident even following his permanent move to Marseille
The former Arsenal superstar Matteo Guendouzi was the subject of a preseason clash in the pre-season with Real Betis icon Joaquin.
It is reported that the French midfielder has completed a permanent transfer into the Stade Velodrome in the summer after a fruitful loan stint for The Ligue 1 outfit. Les Olympiens signed his contract at an affordable PS9million cost. Guendouzi is currently participating in his first pre-season match as an all-time Marseille player, but things didn’t go according to plan during their latest game against Spanish club Real Betis.
The match was played in the Chesterfield Technique Stadium on Wednesday evening with an exchange of words between the two teams with Guendouzi at the centre of. The score was locked at 1-1 thanks to goals scored by Arkadiusz Milik as well as Rodri, Joaquin approached the former gunner in the last minutes of the game after refusing to accept a couple of tough challenges.
The Frenchman was retaliated against by players of both teams – even those on the bench eventually intervening to stop the fight. The referee was forced to divide the two teams at the end of the game, bring the match to an end in a standstill.
Marseille are left with one more preseason game to play before getting their season going. They play AC Milan on Sunday before starting the first game of their Ligue 1 campaign against Reims.
Guendouzi is of course hoping to play an important role in the next season as well. The 23-year old made 54 appearances in the last campaign for Marseille scoring five goals while adding 14 assists. Marseille finished second to the eventual winners Paris Saint-Germain.
They’ve of course lost one of their key players this summer and the former student William Saliba returning to Arsenal. Guendouzi earlier stated that he’d be trying to persuade the former teammates and friend to come back to Marseille.
Interviewing TF1, Guendouzi said: “William now has Marseille in his heart and I am sure that he will come back to Marseille next season. So I am going to try to push again for him to stay with us.”
Mikel Arteta has since intervened and has led to Saliba getting a few occasions to shine in the Arsenal pre-season schedule. Rumours suggest that he may be on the verge of signing an extension in Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium with his current contract set to expire the summer of 2024.
When asked about the Frenchman’s performance in the pre-season, Arsenal boss stated: “I am really pleased to observe the way he’s playing and the way he’s been able to adapt into the squad, and the maturity he has shown at the age of 21, continue to do it.
“We will keep developing him, he has huge potential, he is already a top player and we have to make him even better.”
