...BUT A CLOUD HANGS OVER GUENDOUZI’S FUTURE

ARSENAL midfielder Matteo Guendouzi’s future has been plunged into uncertainty after manager Mikel Arteta confirmed he was axed for the win at Southampton due to ‘internal issues’. Guendouzi’s conduct was called into question after he grabbed Brighton striker Neal Maupay by the neck after Saturday’s defeat at the Amex Stadium. After the game, Maupay accused Arsenal players of lacking humility — and

Sportsmail revealed on Tuesday that Guendouzi made disparaging remarks towards Brighton players in the match, including tasteless taunts about money. Arteta then made the decision to drop the Frenchman, 21 — who escaped an FA ban for his clash with Maupay — from his 20-man squad yesterday. Asked why he didn’t include Guendouzi, the Gunners boss replied: ‘Squad management. Whatever internal issue we have, we deal with it privately.’ Arteta also dropped Guendouzi from his squad for a game against Newcastle earlier this season due to concerns about his attitude. On a brighter note, the Arsenal manager was full of praise for his team as they secured their first win since the return.

Arteta admitted he was anxious after two successive losses, but said: ‘We’ve had two very difficult weeks. I was concerned with the way we threw the game away against Brighton — it really touched the team and confidence is everything in this game. ‘I know what this team can do, but only if we are 100 per cent focused. If not, we are average.’ Eddie Nketiah, who scored Arsenal’s opener, said: ‘It was a very important three points. We’ve been unfortunate with results not going our way. ‘We knew we had to roll our sleeves up and keep moving forward. It was difficult. We kept going in the heat and luckily we were able to wrap it up with another goal at the end.’ Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl was at a loss to explain his team’s poor home form in the Premier League. The defeat was a 10th of the season at St Mary’s, and Hasenhuttl said: ‘If we knew the reason we would change it. Games at home are going a different way, especially when we concede the first goal. We have 37 points and a lot of them taken away. Why? I can’t tell you. ‘We don’t play differently. I think sometimes our final decisions in the box are not that good.’