Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi has evaded FA punishment following his conduct against Brighton & Hove Albion.
The Gunners faced relegation battling side Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday night, after they were humiliated by Manchester City in a three goal thriller. Mikel Arteta’s side were hoping they can bounce back against Brighton at the weekend by securing maximum three points but their hopes were dashed by the home team as Arsenal were humbled by Brighton with an equalising goal from their captain Dunk and a match winning goal from Maupay in the last minutes of the second half.
Neal Maupay’s last minute goal and his involvement with Leno’s injury really made the matter worse for Arsenal which led to Matteo Guendouzhi’s reaction after the match. The French midfielder Guendouzi was seen grabbing the throat of Brighton’s Neal Maupay at the end of a late drama game at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
The incident which referee Martin Atkinson said he didn’t not see was reviewed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and no action was taking against Matteo Guendouzi. The youngster is lucky enough to get away with such an act despite his hands seen on opponents in the aftermath of the final whistle in their Premier League game.
Football Association have however brought to the notice of both clubs their responsibilities after the bust-up at the end of the game.
Despite Mikel Arteta failing to admit the player did it on purpose, the Gunners squad led by Guendouzi were fuming about the tackle through out the game.
“I don’t know, I haven’t seen the action. I’ve seen a lot of players just talking and getting together but I don’t know what happened.” said Arteta. “Yeah but it’s the frustration because we threw the game away and probably that’s a reaction that can happen. But I always believe a player has no intention to get somebody else injured.”
The Brighton No.7 who went on to score the winning goal for the home side in the dying embers of the game, which triggered another bust up with Guendouzi involved once again said afterwards:
“Some of the Arsenal players need to learn humility maybe sometimes. They were talking a lot, particularly one of them. I’m sorry about what happened to Bernd Leno, I never meant to hurt him. I wish him a speedy recovery.”
