Guendouzi: No fear and no reticence
One of the most exciting aspects of Matteo Guendouzi’s game is that he rarely plays how you would expect a 19-year-old to play. The Frenchman carries himself with a natural authority that belies his inexperience, and patrols the Arsenal midfield with the sort of prowling control that most players take years to learn.
While so many teenage talents tend to flicker in and out of games, Guendouzi imposes himself on proceedings. So often, when he has the ball, he will hold his hands out in front of him, demanding options from the attackers and ushering runners into position. There is no fear and no reticence from the big-haired midfielder who has made such a big impact at the Emirates.
It is remarkable to think, when you watch them both play, that Guendouzi is two years younger than Ainsley Maitland-Niles, for example.
Guendouzi is also two years younger than Julio Pleguezuelo, the little-known defender who started against Blackpool, and only a year older than Emile Smith Rowe, who has been hailed as the next Arsenal attacking wonderkid.
All these players are tipped as potential stars of the future. Yet Guendouzi is at a similar, if not earlier, stage of his career and he is already one of Unai Emery’s senior figures. In last week’s Europa League match against Sporting Lisbon, a fine side with a formidable home record, Guendouzi dictated the game while more experienced players such as Aaron Ramsey and Mohamed Elneny (123 international caps between them) struggled for a foothold.
It was the same against Blackpool on Wednesday night, when Guendouzi was again trusted with the all-important role at the base of a midfield three. Throughout the first half he provided Arsenal’s thrust, and he also created Stephan Lichtsteiner’s goal with a wonderful assist from deep. It was passes like these, no doubt, that were on Mesut Ozil’s mind when the German recently described Guendouzi as a “brilliant player” and the best young talent in the Arsenal squad.
And yet, for all this, there are moments when Guendouzi unwittingly reminds us of all of his tender age, and shows why he cannot yet be fully trusted by Emery. His first booking against Blackpool was reckless, and the second felt naive (even if the referee’s decision was harsh). It almost cost Arsenal the game and, far more importantly, it has cost Guendouzi a place in the team for this weekend’s meeting with Liverpool.
He may not have started the match, but we can be almost certain that he would have joined it at one point. There have been only two games this season, against Watford and Everton, when Guendouzi has not featured either from the start or from the bench. Emery has been pleasantly surprised how quickly Guendouzi has developed, and has come to rely on him in recent weeks as injuries to full-backs have forced Granit Xhaka into a defensive position.
It felt notable that Emery refused to criticise his young midfielder for his ill-discipline on Wednesday night. The Arsenal head coach has not been afraid to deliver a few home truths to his players in public, but this time he chose to praise rather than pillory.
“He is playing well and he is playing with one very important thing: good spirit,” Emery said. “He is competitive. He is playing with the spirit like I want in every match.”
That spirit will be missing against Liverpool, when Guendouzi’s energy and physicality would have made him an obvious candidate to challenge Jurgen Klopp’s high-intensity midfield. But Guendouzi, who was so dismayed to have been sent off on Wednesday, will have to watch from the sidelines and learn from his mistake.
He developed a reputation in France for being hot-headed and temperamental, but Guendouzi has largely kept his composure this season. As Emery pointed out, his red card against Blackpool was not the result of a lack of emotional “control”. Nevertheless, his suspension was needless and, as he watches from the stands like a scolded teenager, it will be the first time this season that he has truly looked his age.
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