Matteo Guendouzi has admitted he left Arsenal in search of a ‘new challenge’ and more playing time, but insisted it’s not the case that he and the club are finished.
The Frenchman completed a deadline-day switch to Bundesliga side Hertha Berlin on a season-long loan after being completely frozen out from the Gunners squad.
Guendouzi grabbed Brighton’s Neal Maupay by the neck on the pitch back in June, and didn’t feature again in Mikel Arteta’s side for the rest of the season, or the new campaign.
When asked whether staying at Arsenal was no longer possible for him, Guendouzi said: ‘It is not that, I just really needed to play this year, a new challenge.
‘That was the most important thing for me. I am still young, I am only 21, so playing time was the top priority for me.
‘So, Hertha Berlin, I know that I will be able to express myself in a magnificent league.
‘I needed playing time, I need to play, I needed to enjoy myself on the pitch and that is what I am going to do this year.’
