Neal Maupay admits he told Matteo Guendouzi that he ‘talked too much’ before his clash with the Arsenal midfielder during Brighton’s 2-1 victory on Saturday.
The Gunners went ahead through Nicolas Pepe but sunk to their second defeat in a row following late goals from Lewis Dunk and Maupay.
Moments after the full-time whistle, Guendouzi became irate with Maupay and grabbed the Brighton striker by the neck before forcing him to the ground.
Earlier on in the match, Maupay had played a role in Bernd Leno’s injury as his challenge on the Arsenal goalkeeper forced him to land awkwardly on his knee and leave the field on the stretcher.
But after the game, Maupay hit out at Guendouzi and revealed that the Arsenal midfielder was being arrogant throughout the game.
‘Some of their players need to learn what humility is, especially one of them,’ Maupay told the BBC.
‘I mean he was talking the whole game, but was saying really bad things.
‘I don’t want to say what he said because I could be in trouble. It was in French because he is French.
‘So when I scored I just needed to say, ‘listen, that’s what happens when you talk too much on the pitch’.’
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta took the blame for Arsenal’s players switching off in the final stages of their defeat to Brighton.
‘I think we did a lot of things today to win the game comfortably but we haven’t competed like you have to compete in the Premier League and give the first goal we gave away,’ said the Arsenal manager.
‘We lost a few important duels after that, I think it’s all our fault.
‘It’s not about character, it’s about how you compete in a Premier League match and it’s for 100 minutes in this case. It’s for every ball, for every action, the moment you lose attention the opponent is going to punish you.
‘It’s not the first time it’s happened and if you want to win football games consistenly at this level that’s a must, and it’s non-negotiable.
‘I think they competed for a large part of the game but in crucial moments when you don’t you pay the price.
‘It’s all my fault, obviously, because I’m the one to make sure they do.’
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