Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi's former coach at PSG says he should be praised for backing himself when leaving the Paris giants.

Guendouzi had been with PSG's academy since the age of six before choosing to quit the club's academy to join Lorient at the age of 15. It was with Lorient where the midfielder established himself as a first teamer and caught the eye of Arsenal scouts.

Guendouzi made his debut at Lorient as a 17 year-old and moved to the Gunners two years later for a fee of £7m.

The youngster was part of France's squad for this past week's Euros qualifiers against Moldova and Albania, but he remained on the bench for both victories. Nevertheless, his former junior coach at PSG, Sebastien Henry, says Guendouzi can be proud that the career decisions he's so far made have led him to winning a place in the squad of the current world champions.

Henry told RMC Sport: "Leaving PSG is also a way of saying that he was not afraid because it is difficult to leave his forever club. But he knew exactly where he wanted to go.

"Competition is very strong in Paris Saint-Germain among young players. Everywhere, at every position. At some point you have to make the choice to continue inside the club or to flourish somewhere else. He decided to flourish elsewhere and he was right.

"If he had stayed at PSG, would he be in France today and play in a big club? It's not certain.

"I think he just made the right choice."

- updated November 18