Arsenal are set to face Brentford this weekend as they continue their title charge, but they will have to watch out for a known villain in striker Neal Maupay.
The Brentford attacker has terrorised Arsenal on several occasions, through both his goals, on-pitch antics and his words in between games.
The Frenchman is likely to receive a hostile reception when he returns to the Emirates on Saturday, but this may only encourage him, and he is guaranteed to have something up his sleeve planned should he grab himself a goal.
Arsenal will hope that their recent strong defensive record is enough to shut him out of the game, but even if he does not score, he may find other ways to leave his mark on the match.
Although he has scored just twice in eight appearances against Arsenal for Brighton, Everton and Brentford, he has angered Arsenal and their fans five times.
Neal Maupay put Freddie Ljungberg to the sword
Arsenal legend Freddie Ljungberg had a brief spell as interim manager after Unai Emery was fired, but one of his games saw him lose 2-1 at home to Brighton.
Maupay headed in a second-half winner to pile on Arsenal’s misery, as it meant they were nine games without a win.
Maupay played a part in Bernd Leno’s serious injury
Shortly after the return of football after the lockdown in 2020, Maupay lined up against Arsenal for Brighton at the Amex Stadium, and in the first half, jumped unfairly, slamming into goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who had to be carried off on a stretcher.
Leno made his feelings to Maupay known as he was being taken off, and he would miss the rest of the season, with Emi Martinez then coming in and making his mark as Arsenal went on to win the FA Cup.
Maupay with another winner against Arsenal
That same match saw Arsenal take the lead through a stunning strike from Nicolas Pepe, but throw it away in embarrassing fashion, as Maupay went on to score a 95th-minute winner.
He had injured Leno, and broken Arsenal hearts in the dying seconds in the same game, and yet, there was more to come.
Maupay helped end Matteo Guendouzi’s Arsenal career
After his winner, several Arsenal players were unhappy with Maupay, and midfielder Matteo Guendouzi got involved in a physical altercation with him.
Afterwards, Maupay accused Guendouzi and Arsenal of lacking “humility,” and was a smug figure in his post-match interview.
“Some of their players need to learn what is humility,” Maupay stated.
“One of them was talking the whole game and saying really bad things. When I scored I just had to say: ‘Listen, that is what happens when you say bad things on the pitch’.”
Guendouzi would be frozen out by Mikel Arteta as a result, and would never play for Arsenal again as he embarked on a few loan spells before a permanent exit in 2022.
The midfielder was already on thin ice with Arteta, but Maupay helped him break through that ice and ended his chances of succeeding at the Emirates.
Maupay mocked Arsenal with a celebration
Maupay did not score against Arsenal again, but in the 2020-21 season he did score against Manchester United, and he clearly made a reference to his incident with Guendouzi.
He celebrated his goal by referencing crying, clearly pointed towards the reaction of Arsenal players and Guendouzi to his antics just a few months before.
Should he score on Saturday, it is easy to imagine that he will have something similar planned, and he will be a true pantomime villain as Arsenal aim to demolish Brentford to take the initiative in the title race.
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