Teenagers face many difficulties and unfinished dream at Arsenal
Matteo Guendouzi (April 14, 1999) was born and raised in Poissy, France. His family is of Moroccan origin but his parents soon settled in France because of more favorable conditions for economic development.
Guendouzi’s father recounted that, from a young age, he was always attached to the ball, whether it was eating or sleeping. His childhood grew up with playing tapes of Patrick Vieira or Thierry Henry, who made history with Arsenal in the 2003-04 season. From here, Arsenal became the team in Guendouzi’s heart. He has always had a desire to be a footballer and he is determined to one day play for Arsenal. People in the neighborhood in Poissy at the time often praised the boy for his determination and deep belief in himself.
As a child, Guendouzi joined Paris Saint Germain at the age of 6. Here, Guendouzi’s talent was not revealed and he was soon “turned out” at the academy of the French capital team in 2014. There was a time when Matteo Guendouzi thought he had to give up his football career. I started early because I couldn’t compete with other young players at the academy.
That same year, he joined the academy of a newly opened football club FC Lorient. Very quickly, Guendouzi was accepted and developed extremely well at this academy. He has constantly strived to improve himself, to keep the fire of his passion for football and to step by step realize his dream of playing for the French national team.
He was a key factor in helping FC Lorient win the first French U17 championship in 2015. The French at that time often compared this young player to Brazilian midfielder David Luiz because of his flowing hair and energetic play. fight.
Guendouzi was quickly noticed by other top teams, including Arsenal. His love for Arsenal from a young age made him unable to refuse this team and soon after, he joined the London Gunners.
Not many young players like Guendouzi will be selected at Arsenal, but Guendouzi is different. What he wanted from a young age came true: A club that not only nurtured and helped him grow, but also made him very happy. Even during his first stint at the Emirates, he was rated more highly by coach Unai Emery than Granit Xhaka.
Emery – Arsenal’s Coach once said the day Guendouzi signed for Arsenal: ‘He is a talented young player and is interested in many clubs. He has great potential and gained good experience in the first team last season with Lorient. He wants to learn and improve and will be an important part of our first team.”
It seemed that things were becoming more and more favorable for Guendouzi when he was developed in a favorable environment like Arsenal, but things gradually went downhill for this player. He often shows a lack of discipline and a lack of collective consciousness. That’s not new for Guendouzi since he was with FC Lorient. From Arsenal’s ‘Golden Boy’, Guendouzi became the one who was pushed out at all costs just 2 years later. The irreparable conflicts with coach Mikel Arteta led to Guendouzi being dumped at a cheap price.
Burning aspiration with France
There is an interesting thing at the 2022 World Cup, the Moroccan team has up to 14 players who are expatriates, they have grown up and competed in Europe. That could be part of the reason an African country reached the semi-finals of a World Cup for the first time. But those 14 overseas players are not all players that Morocco can summon, because not all overseas players will return to dedicate themselves to a not-so-developed football.
Matteo Guendouzi is one such case. He has a Moroccan father and a French mother, but also grew up in Morocco. When Guendouzi was 19 years old, then Moroccan coach Herve Renard once flew to London to convince the young Arsenal star then to play for his team, instead of choosing Les Bleus which was already overcrowd with talented midfielders. power. This is also Father Guendouzi’s own wish.
He was fully qualified to play for Morocco at that time, but his love was for France. He grew up in French football from a young age, so this is not to blame. He also played for the youth teams of France and did not hesitate to express this love: “Playing for the French national team has been my dream since childhood. I will do whatever it takes to make it happen.”
At the 2022 World Cup, he was named on the list by coach Deschamps to attend the tournament in Qatar. He was also included in the starting XI for France’s loss to Tunisia in the group stage.
France is very close to defending the championship trophy. The semi-final match on December 15 at 2:00 pm, France will face his hometown team. This will be a match worth watching from both inside and outside the professional side. The possibility of Guendouzi being on the pitch is very low, but it is also something worth waiting for.
