In what was an impressive team performance, Matteo Guendouzi embraced his role as the pantomime villain in Arsenal's 2-1 victory over Bournemouth on Monday night.

The floppy-haired Frenchman was given the chance to start in central midfield alongside Granit Xhaka, replacing Lucas Torreira. And in a dominant display from the Gunners - they averaged 60% possession - Guendouzi was the man at the heart of things in that deeper-lying role.

After arriving in the summer of 2018 from French side Lorient, the 20-year-old established himself as a vital part of the Gunners' first-team, making a total of 48 appearances across all competitions. But having started this campaign with similar importance - he featured in the north London side's first 14 Premier League games - Guendouzi has had to settle for a more bit-part role as of late.

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Since the announcement of Mikel Arteta's arrival as the club's head coach, he has been an unused substitute three times in the league, playing just 178 minutes of top-flight football. Torreira and Xhaka has been the preferred midfield axis, but in one superb display against Bournemouth in the FA Cup fourth round, Guendouzi delivered a major statement to his new boss.

Matteo Guendouzi vs Bournemouth

As per Sofascore, his total of 88 touches was only behind Sokratis (100) and Xhaka (97) in the Arsenal side, but he was the undeniable driving force in midfield. He completed all five of his attempted dribbles, and at one point, delivered an emphatic nutmeg of Dan Gosling to escape from a tight spot. It was a sign of the level of confidence that seemed to be oozing through the former Lorient man, and to his credit, he also didn't shy away from the defensive duties.

His game-high total of 14 duels won was more than double that of the man in second - Gosling, who had just six. Add to that, his four tackles, two clearances, one interception and two free-kicks won, and it was clear Guendouzi was the heart and soul of the Gunners.

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And having committed a few fouls himself (3), the Frenchman certainly didn't endear himself to the Cherries crowd, who made their disapproval very clear. His altercation with Gosling by the touchline further added to his villainous reputation, but Arteta and the Arsenal fans will no doubt have appreciated his fire and will to win. He embraced the proverbial 'dirty' side of the game, and carried Arsenal into the fifth round of the cup.

He may have lost his place to Torreira in the starting line-up when it comes to the Premier League in recent weeks, but Guendouzi's tigerish midfield display on Monday has certainly given Arteta a major selection headache.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans have been left swooning over this attacker's performance against Bournemouth.