Looking ahead to Saturday evening’s Premier League match, which is live on talkSPORT, Brighton posted an image of Neal Maupay doing his crying celebration
It promises to be a competitive clash with both sides going into it in good form. Brighton and Arsenal have history too.
A Premier League clash between them in June 2020 turned into a bad-tempered affair with Seagulls star Maupay at the heart of all the drama.
Maupay’s late challenge in the first half forced Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno off the pitch – the injury keeping the German sidelined for over two months.
To rub salt in the Gunners’ wounds, Brighton ran out 2-1 winners thanks to two late strikes… the winner coming from the left boot of Maupay.
There was no time for Arsenal to get back into the match but there was time for them to make their feelings towards the match-winner known.
As referee Martin Atkinson blew the whistle, Matteo Guendouzi grabbed Maupay by the throat before forcing him to the ground.
Shkodran Mustafi and Sead Kolasinac had strong words for Maupay too as a melee on the pitch ensued.
Guendouzi marched back over to Maupay and is understood to have bragged about having higher wages than his fellow Frenchman. It later emerged that Guendouzi was on a £40,000-a-week contract, while Maupay was earning £50,000-a-week…
Speaking after the game, Maupay said: “Some of their players need to learn what is humility, especially one of them.
“I mean he was talking the whole game, but was saying really bad things. I don’t want to say what he said because I could be in trouble. It was in French, because he is French.
”So when I scored I just needed to say, ‘listen, that is what happens when you talk too much on the pitch’.
“They got what they deserved.”
Maupay was hardly an innocent party in this episode but Guendouzi bore the brunt of the criticism afterwards, with talkSPORT’s Ally McCoist labelling his actions as ’embarrassing.’
Guendouzi hasn’t played for Arsenal since, having spent last season on loan at Hertha Berlin. He’s now on loan at Marseille.
It’s understood Mikel Arteta is keen to get the 22-year-old out of the club, so that infamous clash could forever be remembered as the day where Guendouzi’s Arsenal career came to an end.
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