By the end of the night, Matteo Guendouzi was the one who enjoyed the last laugh. The Frenchman was relentlessly booed by the Bournemouth crowd in Arsenal’s FA Cup fourth round clash, with his apparent theatrics and professional fouls drawing the ire.
His involvement in a touch-line altercation with Dan Gosling further incensed the home supporters, but to his credit, Guendouzi kept his composure, and helped inspire an impressive 2-1 victory for the Gunners.
As per Sofascore, he won a ridiculous 14 total duels, completed all five of his attempted dribbles, and made four tackles too. The former Lorient man also helped dictate the game for the north Londoners, enjoying 88 touches, and accurately delivering seven of his nine attempted long balls.
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And after seeing his tigerish performance, Arsenal fans took to Twitter to voice their thoughts on the 20-year-old.
A couple of supporters of the north London side drew comparisons with former Arsenal players, with one fan referencing Patrick Vieira, and another comparing him to Cesc Fabregas.
Some fans discussed Guendouzi’s uncanny knack to find his way into the bad books of opposition supporters, with one supporter in particular claiming that the Frenchman would be more happy getting booed in an away game than scoring a hat-trick.
Whilst his impressive display may have come against a Bournemouth side who are currently languishing in 18th in the Premier League table, Guendouzi certainly showed Mikel Arteta what he is capable of.
Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka have appeared to be Arteta’s preferred choice in the two deep-lying midfield positions, with Guendouzi being an unused substitute on three occasions in the top-flight since the appointment of the new head coach.
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But his statement-making performance against the Cherries on Monday night has given Arteta something to think about going forward.
Meanwhile, Arsenal fans have been left swooning over this attacker’s performance against Bournemouth.