Matteo Guendouzi probably wouldn’t have chosen to play Manchester City, if he could have handpicked his opponents for his Arsenal debut, but alas fate decided that it was indeed the English top flight champions that the French teenager had to face on the first outing in the Premier League.

Man City didn’t demolish the Gunners as they did in Arense Wenger’s last term at the Emirates but they still cruised to a 2-0 victory over Unai Emery’s men in North London.

Youngster Matteo didn’t have a perfect game; he couldn’t stop Raheem Sterling from scoring in the fourteenth minute, he also allowed Sergio Aguero to break free on goal (thankfully the Argentine striker couldn’t score) and his passing success rate wasn’t the best at just 80%.

Yet these faults actually brought out a few positives in the midfielder.

The nineteen year old didn’t allow his head to drop, even after a mistake or two. He continued to show for the ball, make a tasty tackle and he even had a voice and would speak up for himself.

To get straight back up after being knocked down, is a great attribute to have in any player and to be honest older teammates like Mesut Ozil and Granit Xhaka should take a leaf out of Guendouzi’s book.

Fans will accept a couple of mistakes, as long as they see the footballer earnestly doing his bit to make up for that mistake. They don’t want to see the player have a sulk or go into hiding.

The fact new Gunners boss Emery decided to bring off the more experienced Xhaka instead of the tenacious Matteo shows you the belief the manager has in his young new signing and the gutsy character that the holding midfielder clearly has.

Defensively Guendouzi did some things really well. He was eager and energetic; making four tackles, four interceptions and one clearance. Having fellow new boy Luca Torreira in beside him in the engine room could be a big help, as at times Granit Xhaka seems very lost as a defensive midfielder.

Emery was quick to praise the youngster:

‘It’s his first match here in the Premier League.’

‘He has personality and quality and if he is on the pitch he is improving very quickly.’

 

Listen Matteo Guendouzi is going to make mistakes at Arsenal in his maiden season. Last season the Frenchman was playing his trade in Ligue 2, that jump in quality is massive.

Unai Emery has to protect him and at times that might mean that he has to come out and watch from the sidelines at certain points of the campaign.

But the initial signs are good and show that the teenager could be a star in the making for Arsenal!

 

Posted on August 13th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article