7 times Matteo Guendouzi was a master sh*thouse at Arsenal

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Arsenal's Matteo Guendouzi (L) celebrates team's goal during the English Premier League north London Derby match between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur at Emirates Stadium in London, Britain on Sept. 1, 2019.

Former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has become one of football’s biggest wind-up merchants – and we love him for it.

The France international made a promising start to his Arsenal career, while his spiky personality briefly made him something of a cult hero at the Emirates. Eventually he was shown the exit door after rubbing Mikel Arteta up the wrong way, and nowadays he’s winding up opponents for Marseille in Ligue 1.

Guendouzi is never one to shy away from controversy, and we’ve taken a look at seven times he was happy to be a bit of a sh*thouse.

Mike Dean

Guendouzi’s attempt to take a free-kick quickly during Arsenal’s FA Cup tie against Portsmouth was stopped by the referee, who told him to move the ball back.

The frustrated midfielder sarcastically lifted the ball above his head before placing it down in a dramatic fashion.

We loved the theatrics but Mike Dean was having none of it. Oh, the irony.

Wilfried Zaha

With Arsenal drawing 2-2 against Crystal Palace, the visitors threatened to counter-attack through Wilfried Zaha in the dying minutes.

But Guendouzi literally took matters into his own hands and stopped the winger in his tracks by hauling him to the ground at the expense of a yellow card.

“I had to foul Zaha at the end, otherwise he is through on goal on his own,” Guendouzi said. “I’m the last defender but I’m far from our goal as well. I had to do it.”

Watford 

Guendouzi is one of those players that can be quite hard to like if you’re an opposition fan, and he received a hostile reception during Arsenal’s game against Watford back in 2019.

After leaving the pitch to a chorus of boos, the 20-year-old cheekily responded by reminding the home fans of the scoreline.

However, that came back to haunt Guendouzi as Watford bagged an equaliser through Roberto Pereyra while he was on the bench.

Training

Guendouzi displayed his huge competitive streak at Arsenal, and he wasn’t afraid to play dirty if it will give his team an advantage.

Even in training, the midfielder rolled around on the floor to try and get players booked.

John Terry

Not content with winding up other players, Guendouzi has also been bickering with opposition coaches from the pitch.

During Arsenal’s game against Aston Villa in 2020-21, the Gunners star reportedly exchanged words with Villa coach and former Chelsea captain John Terry.

After Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored a late winner, Guendouzi apparently gestured that he was inside John Terry’s head. It’s not hard to see why Arsenal fans love him.

Tottenham

Goading the fans of your arch-rivals is the best way for a new signing to endear himself to his new supporters and Guendouzi didn’t waste much time.

After Aaron Ramsey opened the scoring against Tottenham in March 2019, Guendouzi made an ear-cupping gesture in front of the surrounding Spurs fans.

He just gets it, doesn’t he?

Everyone is hurting, but let’s appreciate some shithousery from r/Gunners

Neal Maupay

“He was saying the Brighton players were s**t and that he and his teammates earn so much more than they ever will,” recalled a Daily Mail source.

“He’s done it in other games as well. Arsenal are a decent club and hate that sort of behaviour.”

Undoubtedly a d*ck move, but one that nevertheless succeeded in winding his compatriot up. We still can’t work out why he escaped punishment for grabbing Maupay by the throat, but that only makes him more of a sh*thouse.

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Arsenal Matteo Guendouzi