Matteo Guendouzi is a player who has already made his peace with his Arsenal past and will sign for Marseille in the summer on a permanent deal. He and Mikel Arteta simply did not mesh well together, and the Spaniard moved him out of the side in 2020 before sending him away on loan twice.
It is well-established that there’s little love lost between the pair and Guendouzi has spoken about his happiness in joining OM from Arsenal permanently. Referencing how it was one of the best decisions he’d made in years.
“It was a carefully considered choice,” he told RMC. “There were very good discussions with the president, with the coach and people in my family.
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“We really made the best decision all together. For me, it’s the best choice I’ve made in many years.”
However, it was his comments regarding Marseille’s win over Brest which provided some perspective for Mikel Arteta. After a bad result against Monaco, Marseille needed to respond against a side they should be beating.
Marseille went to the team that had claimed points from them earlier in the campaign, similar to Brighton’s 0-0 draw with Arsenal last year, and they won comfortably 4-1. Are you seeing the parallels yet? The former Arsenal man referenced the mentality of his teammates and disregarded the tactical side and instead highlighted how they adapted to their opponent.
“The victory was well deserved, we controlled the match, it’s a really nice win. We did some great stuff with the ball, and we stayed strong without it," he said to RMC Sport via GFFN.
“It was important to win, it’s also nice to get back into second place, which is really important to us. If we continue like that, we’re on the right track.
“With the previous bad results, we needed to bounce back. Tonight, we got the three points but also the way in which we achieved it. We have to keep this mentality – tonight everyone had it, even those on the bench.
“It bodes really well for what’s next. Have we found our system? It doesn’t matter. You have to adapt to the team you’re facing. It’s not the system that wins or loses the match.”
Arteta however failed to get his side to bounce back. In fact, it was an insipid performance that harked back to the Arsenal sides of old whose mentality was continually questioned. Players were not playing in the same energetic fashion that had been seen before.
Also, Arteta’s decision-making regarding team selection cost the Gunners dearly. It could yet have an even worse impact later on down the line. By benching Nuno Tavares, the questions will linger what this will do to the player's mentality and those that are affected by the decision also?
This is not to say that Guendouzi was a bastion of good mentality, far from it in fact. However, it is fair to point out his own growth over the course of this season with Marseille.
Meanwhile, Arsenal have crumbled under the pressure. Should the team wish to progress, they will need to ensure they respond better and improve the mentality of the side further than the level they have already listened to.
