Arsenal have been in good form.
They face Leicester City on Tuesday evening and the game will mark a chance for the Gunners to pick up their fifth successive victory.
Under Mikel Arteta, they lost to both Manchester City and Brighton & Hove Albion following the resumption of proceedings after the COVID-19 suspension.
However, since then, they have beaten Southampton, Sheffield United, Norwich City, and Wolves in impressive fashion, scoring 10 goals and conceding just once.
However, one player who has been conspicuous by his absence has been Matteo Guendouzi.
The France U21 international was involved in a heated row with Neal Maupay during the clash with Brighton, which the Gunners lost thanks to a late goal from the striker, and even appeared to grab the forward by the throat.
The Athletic’s Arsenal correspondent David Ornstein has reported since that Guendouzi was called into a meeting with manager Mikel Arteta and did not impress.
He has not been in the squad since, and has not even trained with the first-team, due to Arteta’s disapproval of his behaviour.
Instead, he has been working alone with a fitness coach, and Arsenal are now exploring the possibility of using him in potential swap deals in the summer transfer window.
In total, Guendouzi has made 82 appearances for the club since his arrival from Lorient in 2018.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
It is about time Arteta made an example of poor behaviour.
The Athletic make it clear that this is not Guendouzi’s first offence – he behaved poorly on a training trip to Dubai in February – and, as a result, it appears like this is the time for an amicable parting of the ways.
Arsenal are set to meet with Guendouzi’s representatives in the coming days to discuss their plans and this stance is the right one.
It is also an incredibly surprising one, given that the midfielder has made 19 starts this term and remained, until recently, a key member of Arteta’s squad. He is valued at £36.45 million by Transfermarkt.
But he clearly isn’t willing to tow the disciplinary line and that means that he should be shown the door.
This is a breath of fresh air from Arteta.