Matteo Guendouzi divulged that he got the call-up while having a nap in the afternoon.
Arsenal youngster Matteo Guendouzi has been called up for the first time in his career. The young midfielder will replace Paul Pogba, who pulled out of the squad after suffering an ankle injury while training with his national team.
The 20-year-old has no shortage of experience with his national team – having played for various age groups before receiving a call up from Didier Deschamps today. The midfielder is inclined to make a senior appearance for his national team as the World Champions play Iceland and Andorra in the Euro Qualifiers.
Following his debut call-up from the national side, Matteo Guendouzi said he was notified by his Under-21 manager Sylvain Ripoll while he was in the middle of an afternoon nap.
He divulged: “I was having an afternoon nap, someone knocked at my door, but I didn’t hear it, because I was asleep. Then the coach (Sylvain Ripoll) rang me, he said it was me who knocked etc, so I went to see him directly.
He said: “We need to speak, I really like you, but you need to go.” I was confused, I was like, where? He said: “The A team.” In my head I was like wow, I didn’t believe it initially because 10 minutes earlier I was sleeping. I thought I was still in a dream.
Then the coach spoke to me some more, explained the situation that I was with the senior team and its a dream. Thankfully I took a shower after, so that it could properly sink in. I think the coach can describe my reaction better than I can, but my eyes popped out of my head.
It is a big surprise for me today. This is a dream of mine since I was a kid. This is extraordinary, I think that any French player would want to be in this team. It is ginormous. There aren’t enough words to describe how it feels.”
The Gunners midfielder was a standout player in their 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Following the International duty, Arsenal will travel to Watford in a tough away fixture on September 15th.
