Matteo Guendouzi has finally used his Instagram page to make his first public reaction since the 20th of June when he was involved in a fight with Brighton’s Neal Maupay after Arsenal’s 2-1 loss to Brighton.
The 21-year-old French and Arsenal midfielder rushed to Maupay and confronted him immediately the referee blew the final whistle. He held the neck of the Brighton‘s player furiously in reaction to Maupay’s challenge on Arsenal’s goalkeeper Bernd Leno in the first half of the match which resulted in the keeper’s injury. Leno couldn’t continue with the match after the challenge as he was carried away by the team’s medics.
Maupay wasn’t sent-off since it was a 50-50 duel between two players. Coincidentally, the Brighton’s star scored the winning goal for his team to make it 2-1.
Matteo Guendouzi who couldn’t stomach the fact that Maupay caused his team to lose their best goalkeeper and still scored the winning goal, the former French under-21 international decided to attack him on behalf of his team immediately the match ended.
The referee of the match decided not to award any card probably because the match has officially ended before the incident occurred. Luckily for the French star, the English FA decided not to punish him.
While granting a post-match interview, Maupay said Arsenal’s players lack humility and alleged that Matteo Guendouzi and some of his teammates were talking too much. Later on, reports started flying that Guendouzi made fun of the lesser wages Brighton’s players were earning.
Neal Maupay really went in on Matteo Guendouzi!#BHAARS #MOTD pic.twitter.com/rUOfw909sB
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) June 20, 2020
Though the FA did not punish Guendouzi, the manager of the club, Mikel Arteta, has not featured him in any match until date. He was not even part of the squad that defeated Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday. He was not also part of the celebration after Arsenal’s 14th FA Cup triumph despite playing three FA Cup matches this season.
Unlike Mesut Ozil who was not also part of the squad that won the FA Cup final but still took to Instagram to congratulate the team, the best Matteo Guendouzi could do was to take to his Instagram page on Sunday to share a picture on his IG story indicating that he is on holiday.
“They’re all part of it [the victory], Mikel Arteta said after the match on Saturday. “We don’t have here Matteo and Mesut but they’re a big part of it because they all contributed in here. They all should be a big part of it. All of them contributed to this trophy.”
Status of Matteo Guendouzi at Arsenal
The continued crisis between Arsenal and Guendouzi who was one of Arsenal’s important players at the beginning of the 2019-2020 season, has sparked speculation that Arsenal intend to sell him this summer.
Viral reports are speculating that Italian Serie A giants Juventus are interested in the 21-year-old French midfielder. Another set of reports are speculation that the Arsenal’s star could be used as a part deal to bring former Liverpool midfielder, Philippe Coutinho, from Barcelona to Arsenal with an additional £9 million while Guendouzi goes to Barcelona.
More so, the Frenchman could be used as a part deal to bring Atletico Madrid’s midfielder Thomas Partey to Arsenal while he goes to Atletico Madrid this summer.
