Matteo Guendouzi was once earmarked as a future Arsenal star — yet the reality of the midfielder's career today tells an entirely different story. Arsenal versus Brighton has evolved into an emotionally charged and occasionally turbulent fixture for the Gunners in recent years.

As Mikel Arteta's title-chasing side prepare for their trip to the south coast for their Premier League encounter on Wednesday night, they may be haunted by memories of how the Seagulls dealt a crushing blow to their already fading title challenge in May 2023. By thrashing the Gunners 3-0 at the Emirates Stadium, they effectively handed Manchester City the Premier League crown.

Arsenal will be desperate to avoid any stumbles on this occasion in order to maintain their five-point lead at the top, albeit with a game in hand over City. For that to materialise, Arteta's men must remain focused and level-headed — something they failed to do the very first time the Spaniard faced Brighton as Arsenal manager.

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During the second fixture of 'Project Restart' in the Covid-disrupted 2020 season, Arsenal headed to the Amex Stadium seeking their first victory following the three-month suspension of football. Things began to unravel towards the end of the first half when Neal Maupay injured goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who was stretchered off the pitch.

A furious Guendouzi, then aged 21, stormed towards Maupay and grabbed him by the throat, to which his fellow Frenchman responded by throwing himself to the turf. Unsatisfied with that alone, Guendouzi confronted Maupay once more after he had risen to his feet, taunting him about earning more money than the striker. The Gunners went on to suffer a late 2-1 defeat.

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It is understood that Arteta, who was still new to his position as head coach, took a dim view of his player's shameless conduct in the aftermath. The Spaniard quickly banished Guendouzi from first-team training and the matchday squad as the remaining fixtures were played out that summer.

The Gunners boss declined to expand on the reasons behind his exclusion. But, speaking some years later, Guendouzi played down the significance of the incident, which marked the last time he played in an Arsenal shirt.

"Journalists used this excuse to say that we had a bad relationship and that's why I stopped playing and left Arsenal [the Maupay incident]," Guendouzi told BeIN Sports. "Not at all. It's a gesture like many on the pitch. There's a lot of tension sometimes, a lot of problems on the pitch. In any case, it has nothing to do with all that.

"It's true that I didn't have the best relationship with him. Beyond that, I always tried to work, always gave the maximum of myself in training and in matches. I still played a few matches with him, I still did great performances.

"He preferred other players and I respect that decision. That's why, afterwards, I also decided to leave because I was still young, I needed playing time to continue to progress. The most important thing when you're young is to play."

Despite his comments, the episode was clearly the breaking point amid wider concerns Arteta already held over his attitude and discipline. Having been forced to train separately, loan moves to Hertha BSC and Marseille followed over the next two seasons for Guendouzi.

He completed a permanent transfer to Marseille in the summer of 2022, establishing himself as a key figure for the Ligue 1 outfit in 2022/23, which earned him a senior call-up to the French national team. Guendouzi decided to exit Marseille in 2023 owing to managerial uncertainty, joining Lazio.

The midfielder was not able to stay clear of controversy throughout his stint in France and his two-and-a-half seasons in Serie A, before completing a transfer to Fenerbahce in January 2026. Despite his encouraging start in Turkey, the fact he is playing there at the age of 26 sums up a disappointing trajectory for a player who much was expected of in England after his early performances in red and white.

Guendouzi had made his £8million move to the Gunners in 2018. Then-head coach Unai Emery trusted him with 48 appearances in his debut season thanks to his work-rate, dynamism and passion, with the midfielder hitting peak form at the start of his second season.

He shone in home fixtures against Tottenham and Aston Villa during Emery's final few months at the helm, providing quality assists and offering a glimmer of hope in an otherwise struggling side.

Such performances even led former Gunners captain Cesc Fabregas to lavish praise on Guendouzi. The Spaniard tweeted in September 2019: "Gotta love Guendouzi. Can play good or not so good but always shows up in difficult moments at such a young age. Big future ahead of him at Arsenal."

Former Arsenal defender Nacho Monreal also later revealed Guendouzi was among the younger players he had tipped to become important first-team figures. He said: "Guendouzi was a really good number six who ran a lot, and was very good with the ball. But he came in at a really difficult moment for the football club, when you look back."

Emery's dismissal at the end of November 2019 triggered the beginning of Guendouzi's downfall at the club. Despite Arteta initially giving him an opportunity, the pair never quite gelled, with the player undoubtedly now regretting his absence from this current exciting Arsenal squad.

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