Matteo Guendouzi is only 24 but, playing for his fifth club in a fourth country, he already feels like he’s grown up.
The Frenchman, who came to prominence at Arsenal under Unai Emery, says the mistakes he made during his time in north London had turned him into a better man and footballer.
Guendouzi has been a key player for Maurizio Sarri’s Lazio this season while on loan from Marseille and is now looking ahead to his side’s Champions League last-16 second leg away at Bayern Munich. Lazio travel to the German champions holding a 1-0 advantage.
Lazio have stuttered domestically this season — falling from runners-up last campaign to sitting ninth in Serie A after 27 games played this time around — but they have quietly impressed in Europe and also booked their spot in the Coppa Italia semi-final, where they will play against Juventus next month.
Cup success is starting to look like the way to salvage a season that suffered a further setback in Serie A at home to AC Milan on Friday night. Lazio lost 1-0 and finished the match with eight players after Guendouzi was sent off in the dying moments following a clash with Christian Pulisic as some of the red mist of old returned.
(Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
Guendouzi has a hatred of losing and, at times, has been accused of letting his competitive streak get the better of him. His father, Mohamed, is a karate coach and many of his family are training in the martial arts. The former Arsenal midfielder Emmanuel Petit said Guendouzi had a “volcanic personality” during his spell at Hertha Berlin.
“I’ve always been like this, even since I was seven or eight years old,” says Guendouzi, speaking before his red card against Milan. “When I was losing a game, I was always screaming. This is my mentality. When I come on the pitch, I always want to win.
“That’s why I am lucky because I play for big clubs and you need to have this mentality if you want to play at the highest level. It’s part of my personality. When I go onto the pitch, it’s to win — it’s not to draw or lose.
“That’s why sometimes, when I’m in the game, I show some reaction because you are totally focused on the game and you are just thinking about the victory, to help the team, and I’ll always be like this. And it’s important to stay like this.
“The older you are and the more you learn, you become calmer than before, but I want to keep this mentality: to fight on the pitch and to always want to win. That’s the most important thing.”
Guendouzi, who was named man of the match in the first leg against Bayern, is enjoying his time playing for football-romantic Sarri.
“I have had six months with Sarri but it looks like I’ve done one or two years because I learn so much with him every day in training,” says Guendouzi. “Tactically, I know what I have to do on the pitch. Now it feels automatic. It’s very good to work with him because he’s an amazing coach.
“I remember losing the final of the Europa League (4-1) when he was at Chelsea and I was at Arsenal in 2019. I’ve learned a lot because when you are a young footballer in France, it’s more about the individual side and less about the collective. Whereas here in Italy and under Sarri, I learn a lot tactically. It was very important to learn this side of football.”
Talk of Arsenal brings us back to where Guendouzi’s career took off after he joined as a 19-year-old in July 2018 from Ligue 2 side Lorient.
At Arsenal, he quickly won the trust of new head coach Emery, who threw him straight in for his debut in the opening game of the season against champions Manchester City. He became popular with the Arsenal fans for his all-action performances during a period of drift for the club.
“I have no regrets about what I did at Arsenal,” he says. “I was 19 and I went on to play 85 games in two years. Eighty-five games for a big club like Arsenal is a lot.
“I tried to give my best for the club. In my first season, we finished fifth, just one point behind the Champions League places, and we lost in the Europa League final. When you finish fifth in England, it’s like second or third in other leagues.
“England is very competitive, even with the teams at the bottom; it’s maybe the biggest league in the world because every game is very, very difficult. I am very happy about what I did there.
“The next season we won the FA Cup. I was so young, I played a lot, I was very happy with this. I learnt a lot with great players. Mesut Ozil was the best, an amazing player with the ball — he sees things you would never see in your life.
“I was lucky to work under Unai Emery, he was an amazing manager. He’s now doing a top job with Aston Villa. He gave me the confidence to play, so I was very lucky to work with him.
“The last six months of my second season was not perfect because I didn’t play a lot, unlike the first year.”
This coincided with Emery’s sacking on November 29 after a seven-game winless run. Mikel Arteta came in, Guendouzi lost his starting place and was relegated to the bench.
He was then axed from Arsenal’s matchday squads altogether after grabbing Neal Maupay’s neck towards the end of a 2-1 defeat at Brighton on June 20, 2020. Guendouzi was alleged to have taunted Brighton’s players about their earnings and was called in for disciplinary meetings.
Guendouzi speaking to Maupay in his last match for Arsenal (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
When asked about that incident, in what would be his last game for Arsenal, Guendouzi replied: “A lot of things can happen on the pitch and sometimes some players say some things you don’t accept and that’s why we had some problems when we played this game against Brighton.
“But that’s in the past, I’m just focused on the future.”
This was not Guendouzi’s first offence — he had openly rowed with Arteta during Arsenal’s warm-winter training camp in Dubai in February 2020. Out of favour, he was even granted permission to go on holiday before Arsenal’s 2020 FA Cup final victory against Chelsea.
“I didn’t work with Arteta a lot, I only had six months,” Guendouzi says. “I was 19, so I was learning every day. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I did when I was 19. But in football, every day you learn and mistakes are part of football. Mistakes are part of life. You become a better man and a better footballer with mistakes. For me, it was a very good club because I played a lot.
“Arteta is doing a very good job at Arsenal, they are fighting for the title, they are a very good team and he’s doing amazing things. I hope they will get a trophy because Arsenal is a big club. I wish the best for them.”
Guendouzi was sent out on loan, first to Hertha Berlin, where he had to deal with a fractured metatarsal and a change of manager, and then to Marseille in Ligue 1. As he did with Emery, Guendouzi struck up a close relationship with Argentine manager Jorge Sampaoli during the 2021-22 season. Sampaoli said that Guendouzi was “on his way to becoming one of the best midfielders in the world”.
Guendouzi playing for Marseille in March 2022 (Sylvain Thomas/AFP via Getty Images)
He featured in every league game that campaign in a Marseille team featuring William Saliba, Boubacar Kamara, Dimitri Payet and Arkadiusz Milik as they finished second in Ligue 1 behind Paris Saint-Germain. He also became a favourite among the passionate fanbase at the Stade Velodrome for his drive and determination in matches. His move was made permanent in the summer of 2022.
Sampaoli, however, quit that summer, frustrated with the club’s lack of ambition in the transfer market, and was replaced by Igor Tudor, under whom Guendouzi’s game time dipped. After guiding Marseille to third, Tudor also left and was succeeded by Marcelino, who lasted just seven games.
“From my second season and the start of the third, everything started to change,” says Guendouzi. “When a new coach comes, there is also a different style of play. This is good for some players, but not for others.”
Eager for a fresh start, Guendouzi joined Lazio on loan with an option to make the move permanent. This season, he has impressed under Sarri.
“Every league is very different,” he explains. “Italy is more about the tactical side of the game. In France, Germany and England it’s more about offensive football, there’s more space to play — but in Italy, it’s more difficult to score because the teams are very organised. Each game is very difficult. That’s why it’s very difficult to qualify for next season’s Champions League.”
Guendouzi is hoping his good form can earn him a recall to the France squad for Euro 2024. His last appearance came against Tunisia at the World Cup 2022, a match they lost 1-0.
“I played the World Cup and we lost the final to Argentina,” he says. “It was very difficult for us. Since the World Cup, I was not called up but I know if I continue to work like I am at Lazio, like the last few games, then I know I’ll have a chance to be there. I’ll fight to be there.”
Lazio will hope he can bring that never-say-die spirit to the Allianz Arena tonight as they look to spring another upset.
(Top photo: Giuseppe Maffia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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