Matteo Guendouzi is delighted with his move to Lazio.
The former Arsenal midfielder, who has arrived from Olympique Marseille, held his Lazio presentation today:
"Good morning everyone, it's a pleasure to be here. I wanted to thank the sporting director for his words, thanks also go to (Maurizio) Sarri and to all the people who allowed me to be here. For me it's a great pride."
What do you expect from the Serie A experience? Where can Lazio go: can they win the Scudetto?
"Each championship is different and you can learn many things. Serie A is one of the best championships in the world, I spoke to those who played here and they told me that it is like this. I hope to play as much as possible. With this team and with great things can be achieved with this coach, now it's difficult to say where we can get to, we'll see as we go along."
Why have you already played in so many top championships? Do you feel you can stay at Lazio for many years?
"It's true that I've moved around a lot, but I started in professional football at the age of 17, so it's already been 6-7 years. I've changed for various reasons, for projects, for coaches, but I've always made choices that have allowed me to grow. I'm here to stay for many years, win and grow personally too."
Can you play in front of the defence?
"I can also help out in front of the defence, it's the coach who will decide the position. But I've already played there in my career."
About the French in Italy?
"I have a very good relationship with the French with whom I played in the national team, in the Under 21s and in the senior national team. I haven't spoken to (Adrien) Rabiot, it will be a pleasure to meet him on Saturday. Let's hope it will be more for us than for him."
Can you tell us about Guendouzi on the pitch? Why are you called a "bad boy"?
"I have a fairly strong personality, I'm myself, I don't change, I've been like that since I was a player. I want to give everything and always be the best, sometimes I know I have extreme reactions on the pitch, but that's how I am, I give everything to win."
Can you make any promises? What do you know about the derby?
"I'm here to grow, but also to win. I know I can do it here. I played against Sarri at Arsenal, he was at Chelsea, he's someone who wants to win. The derby will be an important match, but we have many others first and it is better to concentrate on these."
Immediately deployed by Sarri, this usually doesn't happen with a new player.
"From the first training sessions I felt good, even if they were few before Naples. My teammates welcomed me well, Sarri showed me some videos, I share his playing philosophy. So it will be easily interpretable by me".
What do you feel you can give to Lazio? The team will also play in the Champions League this year.
"We all have different qualities on the pitch, if they took me maybe it's because I have something different than the others. I bring energy, quality with the ball and also experience. I'm young but I've already played many matches in Europe and in the championship."