Arsenal manager Unai Emery has praised new signing Mattéo Guendouzi’s personality after their Premier League opening day loss to Manchester City.
The Gunners played host to the reigning champions as Emery took charge of his first competitive match in north London. However, Pep Guardiola’s side were far too strong for Arsenal across the pitch and the Citizens ran out 2-0 winners at the Emirates Stadium.
Despite the result, Emery has aimed praise towards new midfielder Guendouzi who signed from Ligue 2 side FC Lorient for an undisclosed fee – thought to be in the region of £7 million – this summer.
The Frenchman has impressed Arsenal fans throughout pre-season and started Sunday’s match against City where he managed to touch the ball 72 times, more than any of his teammates.
Speaking to reporters (via BBC Sport), Emery said that there is more to come from the young midfielder.
“It’s his first match here in the Premier League. He has personality and quality and if he is on the pitch he is improving very quickly.”
Emery also touched on how he could see the positives in Arsenal’s play despite the opening day defeat at home, adding: “The result was 2-0 but I think on the pitch over the 90 minutes we were getting better.
“The first half we didn’t play like we wanted. We spoke at half-time about taking more responsibility for the second half, to do a little more. We wanted to build with the ball and break their lines. I think in the second half we played more like we want.”
Arsenal’s next fixture is away to fellow Londoners Chelsea this weekend.
The post Unai Emery hails Guendouzi’s “personality” after Premier League debut appeared first on Squawka News.
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