Guendouzi sparks post-match brawl at Lyon after Fenerbahce seal Champions League place

Matteo Guendouzi was at the centre of a mass brawl at the Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday night after Fenerbahce’s 2-1 victory over Lyon secured the Turkish club’s place in the Champions League league phase. The French midfielder’s animated celebrations — loaded with extra edge given his previous spell at Marseille, Lyon’s fierce rivals — ignited chaos involving players, supporters and staff from both sides.

The ugly scenes are unlikely to surprise anyone who followed Guendouzi’s turbulent time at Arsenal, where a series of flashpoints ultimately ended his career at the club before he turned 22.

Signed by then-Gunners manager Unai Emery from Lorient in 2018 at the age of 19, Guendouzi arrived in north London as an unknown quantity and quickly justified the faith shown in him, making 48 appearances in his debut season including 23 Premier League starts. He looked set to become a long-term fixture in the Arsenal midfield.

The relationship with the club began to unravel when Mikel Arteta replaced the sacked Emery in December 2019. Guendouzi made just 12 appearances under the Spaniard, whose exacting standards proved a difficult fit for the combative midfielder. The first serious rupture came during Arsenal’s training camp in Dubai in February 2020, when Guendouzi clashed with Arteta and his coaching staff in a heated argument on the training pitch after assistants raised concerns about his attitude. The row spilled into the team hotel and Arteta dropped him from the squad for the subsequent match against Newcastle United.

A temporary truce appeared to hold when Guendouzi started Arsenal’s first two fixtures after the Premier League resumed following its Covid-19 suspension. But a second major incident ended his time at the club for good. In a 2-1 defeat to Brighton in June 2020, a frustrated Guendouzi grabbed French striker Neal Maupay by the throat and shoved him to the ground. He escaped a red card on the pitch but never played for Arsenal again — that match proved his final appearance for the club.

Arteta initially left the door open for a reconciliation, but according to reports at the time, the manager was disappointed when Guendouzi failed to apologise for his conduct in the days that followed. Guendouzi was absent for Arsenal’s remaining eight league games that season before being loaned to Hertha Berlin.

Now 26 and a full France international, Guendouzi has rebuilt his career — via Marseille — and arrived at Fenerbahce this summer. Wednesday’s brawl in Lyon is a reminder that the talent and the temper remain inseparable.