Ex- Arsenal ace Matteo Guendouzi has been the subject of an astonishing rant from former Roma and Inter Milan hard man Radja Nainggolan.
After a turbulent few years at the Emirates and two seasons at Marseille, one of which was on loan, Guendouzi now plies his trade for Italian giants Lazio on loan from the French outfit. The France international was tipped for big things back in his Arsenal days, but after falling out with Mikel Arteta it became clear the midfielder would have to seek a new challenge elsewhere.
The 24-year-old has made 28 league appearances for Lazio so far this term, notching two goals and three assists in the process. Nainggolan however, remains totally unconvinced and has torn into Guendouzi, insisting he is not good enough for a club of Lazio's stature.
"Guendouzi is good for nothing," Nainggolan toldControcalcio."He only knows how to run. He is an idiot," the ex-Roma midfielder continued. "Lazio gave away [Sergej] Milinkovic and replaced him with Guendouzi. What’s the point of having him? He’s not a quality player. He shouldn’t even be in a team of Lazio’s calibre."
"In his place, I would easily take [Alfred] Duncan from Fiorentina. Guendouzi is not a strong player, he’s average – I can name at least 12 other players better than him in Serie A. Tell me how many times he’s scored, how many shots he takes. He doesn’t have any qualities, he only knows how to break up the play."
Wenger breaks silence on Arsenal visit as he doubles down on title predictionThe comments come just weeks after Guendouzi reflected on his time in England with Arsenal, where he explained that he was not regretful over anything that happened at the Emirates. “I have no regrets about what I did at Arsenal,” he told the Athletic.
"I was 19 and I went on to play 85 games in two years. Eighty-five games for a big club like Arsenal is a lot. I tried to give my best for the club. In my first season, we finished fifth, just one point behind the Champions League places, and we lost in the Europa League final. When you finish fifth in England, it’s like second or third in other leagues."
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He went on to address his time under Arteta and admitted mistakes were made. Guendouzi claimed: “I didn’t work with Arteta a lot, I only had six months. I was 19, so I was learning every day.
"I wouldn’t make the same mistakes I did when I was 19. But in football, every day you learn and mistakes are part of football. Mistakes are part of life. You become a better man and a better footballer with mistakes. For me, it was a very good club because I played a lot."
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