Darren Bent claims he heard £8m signing at Arsenal had a really terrible attitude

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Darren Bent has claimed Arsenal once sold a player who had a terrible attitude.

Wasting no time in overhauling the culture at the Emirates Stadium after taking charge in 2019, Mikel Arteta even ripped up Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s contract.

He has since transformed his squad into seasoned title challengers and they could go all the way this season, having entered the international break a point ahead of Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta has made no bones about the fact that he runs a tight ship, and Darren Bent believes he was right to axe a player who proved to be a “real problem” in the dressing room.

Matteo Guendouzi had a ‘stinking’ attitude at Arsenal

Matteo Guendouzi joined Arsenal from Lorient in July 2018 for a fee of around £8million and played regularly under Unai Emery.

However, he then tumbled out of contention once Arteta took charge, before being shipped out on loan to Marseille in 2021, a move which soon became permanent.

He gained a reputation for being a hot head and was involved in several unsavoury incidents during his four-year stint at the club, leading Arteta to look to push him out.

“He got out Guendouzi, whose attitude was stinking,” Bent told talkSPORT. “That obviously was a real problem apparently, from what I’ve heard.

“I’m not obviously making these rumours up, but this is what I’ve heard that his attitude was poor, Guendouzi. So he obviously had to go.”

Now on the books at Lazio in Serie A, Guendouzi was called a “big mouth” by Paulo Dybala and accused of unfairly picking on young players.

Matteo Guendouzi praises Mikel Arteta

Despite his tumultuous Arsenal departure, he insisted he holds no ill will towards his former boss. In fact, Guendouzi even wants to see Arteta win the Premier League.

“Arteta is doing a very good job at Arsenal,” he told The Athletic. “They are fighting for the title, they are a very good team and he’s doing amazing things.

“I hope they will get a trophy because Arsenal is a big club. I wish the best for them.”