Mikel Arteta has hinted that he may have been unhappy with Matteo Guendouzi over his attitude in training after leaving the 20-year-old out of the squad for Arsenal’s 4-0 win over Newcastle on Sunday.
Guendouzi was fully fit but for the first time this season was not part of Arsenal’s 18 man squad for a Premier League match with Dani Ceballos, Granit Xhaka, Lucas Torreira and Joe Willock ahead of him in the pecking order.
The France Under-21 international had started Arsenal’s final game before the winter break, a 0-0 draw at Burnley, and Arteta did not leave Guendouzi in any doubt as to why he was not part of his plans for the Newcastle clash.
"The reason is that players who, in my opinion, are training better, behaving better and are more applied to deliver on the pitch, what we want, are the players selected," he told beIN Sports.
Guendouzi has been a consistent presence in the Arsenal side this season, appearing in 29 games across all competitions and playing more minutes than the likes of Lucas Torreira and Mesut Ozil.
He has proven to be a shrewd addition since arriving from second tier French club Lorient for £7million in the summer of 2018 and football.london revealed last week that Arsenal plan to hold talks over Guendouzi's contract this summer, when his terms will have two years left to run.
It remains to be seen whether Guendouzi's exile will be a lengthy one with Arteta now having to balance Arsenal’s Premier League commitments with their involvement in the Europa League and FA Cup.
He will certainly have competition from Ceballos, who started his first game under Arteta and won an impressive commendation from his head coach for his work in a deep midfield role.
"I thought Dani was ideal for this game in that game position today," Arteta said.
"The way he's been training, he completely deserves a chance, and I'm so glad with his performance."
