Stephy Mavididi exclusive on Arsene Wenger's 'aura', Juventus training with Cristiano Ronaldo and life at Leicester
Updated 14/02/2025 at 11:33 GMT
You'll be hard-pressed to find a more fascinating journey to the top flight of English football than winger Stephy Mavididi. The English forward was signed by Arsenal as a teenager before joining Italian giants Juventus, as well as spending four years in Ligue 1. He sits down exclusively with TNT Sports to discuss his story and details his memories of Arsene Wenger and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Highlights: Tarkowski strikes late as Jones, Doucoure and Slot see red in post-match chaos
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When Stephy Mavididi comes up against Arsenal on Saturday afternoon, the lessons that he learned from his time at the Emirates Stadium will come flooding back.
"The message was apply yourself every day and take nothing for granted," he says. "That was one of the main messages that stuck with me from my time at Arsenal.
"It’s a massive club, but they’re big on educating young boys and turning them into men. That’s the biggest life-skill you can learn, so I’ll forever be grateful for that."
Leicester City welcome the Gunners to the King Power Stadium on Saturday at 12:30pm in the Premier League - live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Mavididi sat down with TNT Sports for an exclusive interview ahead of the clash where he reflects on signing for the north London club as a teenager from Southend United.
"When I was at Southend, we used to play them once or twice a season because our academies had a good relationship," he recalls. "Every time we used to play, we always used to get smoked, but every time you played them, you become familiar with the players they have at your age.
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Stephy Mavididi during his time at Arsenal playing against Mamadou Sakho.
Image credit: Getty Images
"When I was there, I pretty much knew the whole squad, and I was happy to make new friends who were local to me as well, and I made friends for life there."
One person who made a lasting impression on Mavididi was legendary manager Arsene Wenger. The forward was part of the academy during the final decade of Wenger's time in charge, but recounts how the Frenchman kept everyone on their toes at the club.
"When I was in the youth team, Wenger was a massive character and had a massive aura, but he never used to say much," he says. "We could be training for about an hour, and he would walk over by himself for the last 30 minutes and everything would just increase - the tempo and the quality.
"Everything would increase but he won’t say anything, and he’ll just walk away, and it leaves you thinking I hope I caught his eye.
"I feel like that was one of his biggest strengths by just leaving that impression on people. That curiosity on whether you’d done enough or not, especially with us being in the academy."
The emergence of players such as Bukayo Saka and Emile Smith-Rowe - the latter now at Fulham - shows that there is a clear path for the youngsters to get minutes in the first team and Mavididi believes it was a matter of time before they started to perform on the biggest stage.
"The main thing is that those players mentioned come from good families," he says. "Obviously being young, you have a lot of interaction with the parents and all of our parents talk. You’re not surprised because they’re good people, and they come from good backgrounds and obviously they’re talented as well."
Mikel Arteta has had to rely heavily on the academy products this season with Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri becoming mainstays in the squad. Both can expect even more playing time until the end of the campaign, especially after Kai Havertz has been ruled out with a significant injury.
Mavididi spent eight years with the club's academy and, although he was unable to make a first-team appearance, he remembers his time there fondly.
Ronaldo 'something that I had never seen before'
Mavididi went from one big club to another after he agreed to join Italian giants Juventus on a permanent basis in 2018.
The Englishman's talent had been spotted and scouted by the family member of a certain Italian and Juve legend - Giorgio Chiellini.
"It was his twin brother yeah," he recounts. "I think he was one of the directors mainly overseeing the second team and below. He was the one who got in contact with my agent and when we first went out there to meet them and hold talks, he was present.
"He was telling me about my game and what the project was at Juventus and he’s football mad. He loves everything about football and it was him who scouted me."
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Leonardo Bonucci and Stephy Mavididi competing at Juventus training ground.
Image credit: Getty Images
Unsurprisingly, Mavididi's move to Turin was overshadowed by Cristiano Ronaldo's £100 million transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus that same summer, after the Portugal star had just helped the Spanish giants to three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles.
Training with one of the greatest players in the game's history was also going to be an eye-opening experience for Mavididi and there is one session that sticks in his mind when recalling his time with Ronaldo.
"I remember one time we had a session with crossing and finishing," he says. "Normally, if you miss, then the next person goes and there were four or five of us. I remember that he stayed on for 13 crosses from each side in a row because he kept finishing everything.
"It was something that I had never seen before. I think that day we had an open session so we had a bit of a crowd, and they were cheering every time when he just smashed it, smashed it, smashed it. I think it got to a stage where we just walked in because we couldn’t get a kick, we couldn’t get a chance. That’s one that will stick with me."
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Stephy Mavididi celebrating with Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus team-mates.
Image credit: Getty Images
It was also Ronaldo's work-ethic that fascinated Mavividi as much as anything.
"The main thing is that whether there’s a crowd or not, he’s still the same," he says. "In the gym, there are no crowds there, but he’s in there, he’s working.
"After training, he’s doing his free kicks and his finishing whether there’s a crowd or not. For me, that’s one of the reasons why he is where he is."
Mavididi's spell at Juventus lasted two years, where he made one cameo appearance from the bench in their 2018/19 league title-winning campaign.
However, rubbing shoulders with the likes of Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon, Leonardo Bonucci, Sami Khedira and Paulo Dybala on a daily basis in training was an experience of a lifetime.
"It was a massive change for me, a massive cultural change as well," he says. "I had to adapt very quickly. It was difficult, I’m not going to lie, there were some hard times, but at the same time, you’re training with world-class players in a fantastic facility. No better place to learn.
"Training with world-class players was for me, you’re here for a reason. You’ve got to prove yourself and keep proving yourself every day and learn off these world-class players. Take a little bit from this player and a bit from that player and try and implement it into your game."
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Ronaldo's insane bicycle kick from every angle
Video credit: TNT Sports
Playing Messi's PSG 'a gala match'
After leaving Juventus, Mavididi started to establish himself as a first-team regular for the first time in his career when he joined French side Montpellier in 2020.
The winger would go on to score 21 goals in 98 appearances for the club and also surpass Chris Waddle, to become the most-capped English player in Ligue 1 history.
Mavididi describes his time in France as a "good stepping-stone" and although he admits that everyone knew Paris Saint-Germain would lift the league title every season, he rejected the disrespect shown at times to French football.
"When I was there, you had the PSG All-Star team with [Sergio] Ramos, Neymar and [Lionel] Messi etc. It got to a stage where playing them was like a gala match - everyone used to say that," he says.
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Stephy Mavididi battling with Sergio Ramos during his time at Montpellier.
Image credit: Getty Images
"Besides that, the level is at a high standard. There are some good teams in there physically, and with the 'farmers league' allegations, I don’t think it’s really true because, obviously, I’ve been there myself and experienced it. It is a very competitive league and as you can see, they always produce talent."
Despite playing on a regular basis, Mavividi decided it was time to return home, and he put pen to paper on a five-year contract to join Leicester.
Both parties have not looked back since, as Mavividi excelled during his debut campaign at the club and played a crucial role in steering them back into the Premier League at the first time of asking last season.
"To this day, it’s the highlight of my career," he says. "We played some good football with a top manager and everything was enjoyable from start to finish.
"Even looking back at it now, even the dark moments we faced last season, it was kind of enjoyable [dealing] with the pressure and everything. It was probably my best season."
It was not just his dazzling attacking play on the wing or his crucial goals that endeared him to the Leicester fans, it was also his character shown on the pitch.
Leicester supporters will fondly remember Mavividi jumping the advertising hoardings to celebrate in front of the Birmingham City fans with his arms folded after scoring with a delightful chip. It was a celebration that club legend Jamie Vardy would have been proud of.
"When they’re giving it the whole game with their chants and trying to provoke our players, I always go by, if you give it, you should be able to take it," he laughs. "That was good and lucky we won that game. If not, I would’ve been in trouble."
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Stephy Mavididi celebrates in front of Birmingham City supporters.
Image credit: Getty Images
'It’s frustrating for myself'
However, things have not fallen into place for the winger this season since Leicester's Premier League return.
He has not been helped by the club changing manager mid-season, with Ruud van Nistelrooy replacing Steve Cooper in November.
Mavididi has not started a match since Leicester's 2-0 defeat to Fulham last month, and he was left on the bench during their controversial FA Cup exit at Manchester United last weekend.
"It’s frustrating for myself because I know that until this stage, I could do a lot more and help the team and club a lot more," he explains when reflecting on the current season.
"But it's part and parcel of football. I’ve just got to keep working hard and when you get your chance, take it."
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Highlights: Palace deepen Leicester relegation worries with crunch win
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This attitude has been developed as a result of the various loan spells that Mavididi has experienced during his short career.
While at Arsenal, he went out on loan to Charlton Athletic and Preston North End before another short-term deal at French club Dijon during his time at Juventus.
At just 26, it is incredible to think that Mavididi has played for seven clubs in three different countries.
He has also represented England at youth level while playing alongside the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold and Aaron Ramsdale, and says that these were invaluable experiences for him as a footballer and a person.
"Those loans helped me develop into the man that I am," he explains. "I had to grow up very quickly, and I feel like they were vital in my career.
"I always say that those loans at such a young age, where you’re going into a first-team environment and I know it’s a cliche, but you’ve got players fighting for their mortgages and playing for promotion and against relegation etc.
"It’s real life and coming through at Arsenal, you’re kind of in a bubble, and you don’t really get that sense of reality. But going out makes you realise that this is the real world, and you’ve got to fight and earn the right to play and fight for what’s yours."
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Stephy Mavididi during his loan spell at Preston challenging Antonee Robinson.
Image credit: Getty Images
These will be the lessons that he will be sharing with his younger brother Shaun, who has only just started his journey in professional football.
Similar to his older brother, Shaun also spent time in the Arsenal academy and enjoyed a spell at Newcastle before recently being released.
"We’re really close, we talk daily and sometimes he does ask me for tips and sometimes I tell him my opinion, but we really have a good relationship," he says.
In typical older brother fashion, he had to leave with the last laugh by adding: "We’re seven years apart, so it’s mainly me teaching him. We’d just go to the park and train together, especially as we got older, but when we were younger it was just me dominating."
Whether he starts or comes off the bench for The Foxes on Saturday, the team will need Mavididi to dominate his opponents if Leicester are to pull off a much-needed win over Arsenal to ease their relegation fears.
When talking about his initial love for the game, the Englishman said: "I always knew I was going to be a forward. I loved getting on the ball and loved dribbling and scoring goals."
How the Gunners could use a player like that right now as they're struggling with an injury crisis up front and, if given the opportunity, Mavididi is ready to punish his former club.
"We’re always motivated and every match we have to be motivated," he explains. "We’ve got a run of games now where it’s going to be crucial for our season, so hopefully, we prepare well and attack the game on Saturday.
"Hopefully we do see brighter days. We’re coming towards the business end and hopefully we can get over the line."
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