Mikel Arteta insists that Arsenal outcast Matteo Guendouzi will start the season on a fresh page

Mikel Arteta has wiped the slate clean with Matteo Guendouzi as the Arsenal manager insisted that every player has been given a fresh start for the new season. 

The young midfielder has been out of favour for the majority of Arteta’s tenure at the Emirates Stadium, having left the Spaniard unimpressed with his manner in training.

Guendouzi also fell down the pecking order after involving himself in ugly scenes when he grabbed Neal Maupay by the throat after Arsenal’s defeat to Brighton after lockdown.

Mikel Arteta has insisted that Matteo Guendouzi will start the season on a fresh page

The young midfielder has falled down the pecking order under the new Arsenal boss

The 21-year-old had his card marked by Arteta last season and has been linked with an Arsenal exit this summer. Last week, reports emerged that Guendouzi had been offered as part of a cash plus player exchange deal for Lyon’s Houssem Aouar. 

However, Arteta has insisted that Guendouzi has a fresh opportunity to impress this season as the Gunners look to climb the Premier League table after finishing eighth last season. 

‘I have been really clear that everybody starts from zero. He is going to be part of the team and at the moment he is like any other player in our squad,’ he said on Thursday.

Guendouzi had been linked with an Arsenal exit this summer but may be given a chance

Arteta said that all his players will start at zero in a huge boost to the promising midfielder

Arsenal are preparing to take on Liverpool in the Community Shield final this weekend, and are on the verge of being given a huge boost with club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang close to signing a new deal.

The 31-year-old has verbally agreed to a £250,000 a week three-year deal and is very close to finalising the new long-term deal. 

‘I keep being positive we have some really good talks with him and his agent and I’m pretty confident that we are going to find an agreement soon, that’s my feeling again,’ the Arsenal boss said.