London, Nov. 12 -- : Arsenal's Matteo Guendouzi feels that karate has helped him a lot in terms of developing a fighter mentality on the pitch.

Guendouzi's father is a karate instructor.

"I think it really helped me in terms of my mentality, being a fighter on the pitch, and always wanting to win and get stuck into duels in a bid to really help the team," the club's official website quoted Guendouzi as saying.

Despite admitting that karate helped him, the 20-year-old said it was difficult to combine football and karate.

"Karate has helped me a lot in that regard. When I was young, I came third in a karate competition in France, which was great, but it is difficult to combine football and karate," he said.

"I certainly have very fond me...