One of Matteo Guendouzi’s former managers says the Frenchman is a difficult player to manage, and that despite his talent he can be a ‘pain on a daily basis’.
The 21 year is currently on loan at Hertha Berlin having fallen foul of Mikel Arteta’s strict disciplinary standards more than once, ultimately ending last season out of the matchday squad and missing out on an FA Cup winners medal.
Mikael Landreau was Lorient boss between 2017 and 2019, and worked with the midfielder as he made his breakthrough.
He spoke with Canal+ (via Sport Witness) and pulled no punches about behaviour he found hard to deal with.
“He annoyed me terribly, he is very complicated to manage,” he said.
“He sometimes has some behaviours within a group that are very, very hard, but somehow, that’s what he is: big.
“He doesn’t let go, he is a fighter. He has an oversized ego, but he certainly needs it.”
He also suggested giving Guendouzi more responsibility might be just what he needs, but sounded a warning about earning that trust with his managers will be key.
“I think he needs to be in the spotlight, to be a leader,” he said. “He needs to be a captain or vice-captain, and he will try to make the most of it.
“Because that’s the way he is. And that means that his teammates have to accept him the way he is, because he’s a pain on a daily basis.
“He’s very boring on a daily basis, but on the other hand, he’s talented.”
Sadly that talent wasn’t enough for Arsenal to put up with the ‘pain’, and despite efforts to sell him during the last transfer window, there were no offers significant enough to consider – suggesting other clubs are cautious of his character too.
So far Guendouzi has appeared twice for Hertha Berlin, having missed a couple of weeks following a positive test for Coronavirus.
OK, the truth is coming out he is a pain in the A*se..
Given he is talented, let’s hope time away from Arsenal will help him mature. He may never come back to play for us but at least we will get more cash from selling him than if he is a pillock.
I think the truth was out already. I remember the very comments coming from Lorient when we signed him. He had had some time out of the first team there too but we were too excited and brushed it under the carpet at the time
I don’t get people like this.
You fallout with people at PSG then at Lorient and then at Arsenal.
How can you still think your attitude is the worlds problem and not yours?
There’s a pretty good player in there somewhere. But there’s an even bigger prick.
I think we all know which Guendouzi will win…
Don’t really care if a footballer is a pain.
Some of the best in the world have had egos the size of planets. Henry was certainly no shrinking violet.
Henry was fucking brilliant though. Guendouzi has a LOT to prove still.
BUT he has shown some of that talent as well. I remember games under Unai where we’ll be losing and own looking like we’re going to score he’ll be the one taking charge trying to make something happen. Even leaning his position to get forward take on players win a foul or set piece cause the other teams to be on the back foot. I eve remember him single-handedly create a winning goal chance for Auba I dying moments and we’ll walk away with 3 points or a draw this happened so many times that’s why Unai was able to… Read more »
He seems a lot more Balotelli than Henry to me
Wonder if it means we have to allow Guendouzi to become an even bigger bigger prick to allow him to rise to his potential.
Nah, pass.
It’s not that important – call it interlull curiosity – but I find myself wondering just what it is that makes Guendouzi such a pain. Plenty of evidence to suggest he is genuinely annoying but I’ve never heard/read any specifics about just what it is that makes him so difficult.
Well given that he is still a kid, it’s understandable that the club doesn’t want to let something out which might tarnish his whole career
Fair point, but if it was just a question of immaturity they would be more forgiving, surely? The way this has been reported – and not just at Arsenal – suggests it’s more than just a case of needing to grow up. I would be interested to know just what it is he does that makes him so unlikeable where ever he goes.
Lol 21 year old isn’t really young
i bet he is the sort of bloke to make a cup of tea and put the milk in first , and claim its the best way. absolute savage.
Reminds me of Dan Crowley when got his loan at Oxford United cut short. Apparently the final straw with the manager was “drinking tea in a provocative manner…”
Me too. When you watch the training videos he does come across as a bit childish. The Dubai incident suggested a certain petulance and unwillingness to respect the coaches at the club. I think you can read an awful lot into the club he ended up with – that suggests to me that he already has a reputation in the game for being more hassle than he’s worth. He needs to grow up sharpish or his talent will be wasted.
Probably thinks he is the Zlatan of the midfield, without really being even a Z.
This isn’t really consequential in any way, but I watched the last Hertha game, which he started in. He actually played quite well, all over the pitch, getting to lots of balls, covering a lot of ground, making a lot of positive passes. It was a good reminder of what he actually has in his locker. But what amused me most was that after each goal Hertha scored, he somehow appeared–he must have busted a gut–to be the first on the scene every time (they scored 3) to get int he face of the goal scorer and celebrate with him.… Read more »
I have doubts if we managed guendouzi properly after the maupay incident, but guendouzi along with partey would hv being interesting as well. Hopefully matteo matures with hertha and comes back a better person and player.
The so-called Maupay incident wasn’t even an incident. Arteta needed money to buy a midfielder. The boy was indeed a pain in the neck but not at Arsenal.
The Maupay incident was that he injured our keeper. There’s payment overdue on that.
Funny how things work out. Maupay’s reckless behavior lead to the arrival of a great goalie who we were able to sell for 20 mill.(sold the wrong goalie imo, but that’s up for debate). One could argue that the Partey deal might have been beyond our reach without that cash injection.
Not a bad way to look at it. Maupay still needs to be taught a lesson for what he did though.
I sense a pattern here with Arsenal fans.
Why is every player who wants to leave the club “a mistake by the club” and “next Gnabry. This will come back to bite us” but then proceed to keep abusing the players that do make it into the first team squad as not good enough?
Nice spot.
Without wanting to resort to armchair diagnostics, everything from the reported erratic behaviour to his playing style makes me wonder if he’s got undiagnosed adult ADHD. As someone who was diagnosed way later in life than the majority of sufferers, I think it would explain a lot.
Could be. I often wondered that about Bendtner, too. Reading his book at the minute and I’m becoming even more convinced I was right.
ADHD or not, the bigger point is that these players are people who are not detached from any mental health concerns or things in their upbringing that shape as adults. We expect them to be model professionals but it’s not always that simple and easy
Watch some of the videos of him on Instagram, the kid is a serious spaz. Sometimes he acts downright retarded. I don’t say that to be cruel or funny, but the kid does some very, very odd things. I wish he was still with us, we’re missing the drive and energy he brought to the club. I think Arteta & Edu are in over their head.
It’s a shame that we didn’t appear to do the necessary “homework” before buying him as his reputation seems to have been well known. It would have saved a lot of grief all round and £7 million. Anyway, he may change his attitude while on loan – or perhaps mature would be a more accurate word. I’ve a feeling he won’t, but we can hope.
Team harmony is essential, but sometimes you need sh*theads like this when building a title-winning side. I don’t think Guendouzi has earned the right to be this painful this early in his career, so hopefully he improves as a player this year as I highly doubt that his personality is going anywhere. Perhaps Arteta will also be more experienced come the summer, and he’ll have a different take on the players who have proven difficult to manage.
I agree mate but if you’re gonna have sh*theads in your side they should be hard as nails and capable of bullying the opposition in the style of Roy Keane or Viera (not that I’m calling Viera a sh*thead). I never saw Guendouzi bully anyone.
He tried to bully Maupay, but only over his wage packet. Perhaps he is just the wrong type of sh*thead.
That’s kind of my point — if he develops the ability to bully or boss, behave this way; until then …
Apparently you missed both of his performances against Man United under Emery at Old Trafford, his performances vs City under Emery, his rally vs Aston Villa when we were a man down and Villa were winning 0-2, and he brought us back from the dead to win it 3-2 last season? Or when Spuds had us dead to rights in the NLD and were winning 0-2, and Guendo helped us fight back to a 2-2 draw? He has his problems, but we don’t have anyone like him in this current side. Emery never had a problem with him, only Arteta,… Read more »
Can someone give Bendtner Guendouzi’s number?
Doesn’t matter how talented you are football is also a people’s game and he’s going to end washed up and unloved unless he gets his act together. Sad to see as I was really excited by him back in early Emery era.
… and if they decide to meet, warn the local police and tip off a few journalists.
..and taxi drivers.
Balotelli can join them and they can call Anelka for advice.
Haha, what a night out that would be
Never really saw Bendtner as a special talent. Like the way I saw in Balotelli and Anelka.
You need to watch his goal compilations
I think this much was obvious in his time here. I also think people are viewing his performances last year through rose tinted lenses — once the shambolic chaos of the Emery era had gone, he really didn’t do much in a more structured Arteta midfield that would warrant giving him a starting spot. Sure he’s talented but his end product with us was negligible and I don’t think he’s worth the headache that he clearly causes managers. He’d probably fit right in at PSG with that attitude though…
This means absolute squat…Roy Keane, Robin Van Persie, Jens Lehmann, Any of the Arsenal squad that Wenger inherited when he took over….
The Manager’s job is to manage a bunch of egotistic young talented individuals….Some of them will be followers, some of them will too full of them selves and some of them will be mad bastards that should be locked up and only let out on match day.
If you cannot manage egos and personalities, you are not proper manager.
Just think that the current manager is too occupied with his own massive ego.
No Excuses, No time….
But then look at players like Ravel Morrison or even our own B52, even with enormous talent and potential there’s still some behavioural issues that can’t be curbed by good management. If Ferguson and Wenger can’t get a tune out of you, there must be deeper issues at play.
Van Persie was on last chances when he arrived at Arsenal…Saw one game when he decided to go after Tim Krul and he was a real bastard…Somehow, neither Wenger or Ferguson had any problems managing him.
the one hole in your argument : all the above players proved their worth on the pitch. MG hasnt come close to emulating those players. just a cocky little sh!t who needs a few life lessons to teach him that its not all about him.
Roy Keane doesn’t belong on your list. He was a winner, a warrior. As Michael Jordan said, “If you don’t wanna play that way, then don’t play that way.” Robin is the best parallel. An absolute pain in his youth, but he eventually saw sense… from his own mistakes. He regards the sending off against Southampton – when Wenger asked him, “WTF did you do that for?” as he came off the pitch – as the turning point of his Arsenal career. He humbled himself, started asking the right questions, and taking advice. RvP was older than Guendouzi then. Hopefully… Read more »
The point is that Wenger and Ferguson had the talent to manage different personalities…Not making an excuse for bad behaviour, but football is not choir practice…If you watch F1…Do you think that Arteta could manage a Verstappen? Some times talent comes with ego, being high strung…When Kloop first arrived, Henderson decided that he could just barge past him…It did not happen a second time …no big issue…An individual either has the persona or not…Arteta does not have it…at lest not that I can see.
Why the f*** Arteta have to manage Verstappen? There is no logic in that comparison. F1 is barely a team sport, individual talent and ego is key success in F1.
On what basis do you claim Arteta doesn’t the personality to manage difficult players?
Vieira grabbed Gary Neville by the neck in the tunnel before a game to tell him that his violent tackles on our players at Old Trafford will not be tolerated in the Emirates. Worse, Fabregas threw a pizza at Ferguson. Wenger did not kick them out of the team.
I am all in for characters who stand up for their teammates. Roy Keane is someone who ended a fellow player’s career by deliberately breaking his leg. Personally, I would not support a thug because he play for the team I support. You can win games and titles without having such players.
Sir Alex Ferguson immediately turfed out anyone who didn’t tow the company line, and he wasn’t too shabby as a manager.
Ferguson turfed out lots, but he managed and got the best out of them before REPLACING them and that is the point, that is the difference…only one he mentioned regretting was Jaap Stam. He never cut his nose to spite his face….
Anyhow, Arteta can go out and get results and make me look the fool, but somehow I do not see it. Right now I am willing to put myself out there and say that I would be willing to bet that Lee Boyer could better manage get better performances from the current team.
Maybe you should ask SAF why he sold Beckham or Maybe SAF wasn’t a proper manager after all. You just have to move some players on if they’re proving too difficult to manage.
Guendouzi is a decent player but a pain in the arse. Hopefully, we’ll sell him next summer.
Interesting news today about a possible swap bringing in Christian Erickson for Granite Xhaka. That would be good business: yeah, he’s a spud, but he could give us something different.
I’m for it.
My god, no.
Why not? He’s a good player. He was anyway.
Best days are behind him, he’s a former Spud, he left England for a payday, and we don’t play a system that would bring out the best in him.
Let’s give some of the young players a go.
All valid reasons. Like you say, let’s develop our young players rather than spend on players past their peak.
I really liked Gwen .. and I think we all suspected that he was a handful to manage .He is certainly the kind of player you’d dislike considerably (hate is a strong word I’m told) if he wasn’t in your team. Unless we get a huge offer,I hope this is not the last we’ve seen of him at Arsenal, as he and the gaffer both mature perhaps communication and people skills will improve.
Eh, I think his talent is overstated. What does he really excel at? I can think of plenty of weak areas in his game
Certainly not worth the hassle. But hopefully we can still get an ok fee for him next summer
I think he has all the raw ingredients but needs it all to be polished. Whether anyone can coach him is the question.
He didn’t improve one bit on or off the pitch through 3 managers. That isn’t on management, it’s on the player. Plus, he simply isn’t that good to justify any of it.
You don’t think when a young player has had 3 managers in 1 year it won’t effect him? That would obviously be disruptive tf? Anyway there were aspects that he improved on last year namely he dribbled more effectively near the final 3rd, improved his ability to make the difference in the final 3rd when played as a no. 8, his ability to take away pressure from the team improved as well, his shooting also improved he was unlucky to have not scored last season. He was for considerable amount of time our best midfielder lool.
I work with a guy like that. One word… ARSEHOLE !!
Bloke sounds like a knob
From pain in the arse to Hertha in Berlin.
Team harmony is essential for Arteta in his situation. Gwen was/is a very promising MF, with the right coach I have little doubt he could be a mainstay in the French MF come three or four years time, would be nice to have him do it for us too. In all this though I have little doubt Gwen would move to another big club without batting an eyelid the second one of them sniffs. With two years left on contract come July, we have a big decision to make. If he wont extend or are not willing to offer an… Read more »
Not all 21 year olds are perfect. He is a pain in the ass, and he is talented for sure, but still a lot to learn. I think the loan was a great move to defuse the situation at Arsenal. Hopefully he will mature, get Smart and come back stronger. Or if things don’t work out we sell him.
This is one of those shouting “fuck” out loud moments.
The guy has a great talent and he is going to piss it away because he can’t get over himself. The shouting comes from the fact that we have been here so many times before and probably most famously with a lanky Danish Lord with a penchant for car wing mirrors….
Talent means nothing without application. Guen looks a half decent prospect but nothing more. If the penny hasnt dropped yet that he can’t keep acting the way he is after a number of incidents across multiple clubs then I’m sorry, he’s a bit thick and unlikely to ever reach his potential. 21 is old enough to start figuring out basic things.
not suprised, most talented players got behaviour issues, Arteta should take a leaf from Sir Alex on how to manage egos, but do not sacrifice talent, team and the fans. We need the two guys to be managed properly, so they learn. I remember Lauren on Van Nistelrooy, in football you fight for each other. Imagine, Partey, Ozil and Guendouzi, that combination was worth trying.
He wasn’t even better than El Neny
if Arteta doesnt improve arsenal attacking style and stll get defeat in Leeds match…the BOD of Arsenal should think twice to hire him as manager with his green experience.
Just like a bad partner the same traits we loved about him only two year’s ago(leadership read unwilling to follow instructions, confidence to be involved in games and unafraid to run the games.. read arrogance and entitlement, , unfortunately we’re now finding out what a double edged sword personality can be his best and his worst instincts are from the same well.
“He’s very boring on a daily basis…” wonder how Gendouzi reacted when he read that one!
Geezer is absolutely Captain material…!
Get him back…asap….!