Mavididi is now playing for Montpellier in Ligue 1 after leaving the Gunners in 2018 after Arsene Wenger stepped down.
The 22-year-old learned his trade at Arsenal with the likes of Saka, Smith Rowe, Eddie Nketiah, Reiss Nelson, Joe Willock, Alex Iwobi, Serge Gnabry and Hector Bellerin, before joing Juventus en route to La Paillade.
And in an exclusive interview with Express Sport, he said: “Some of them are really, really close friends, even more than friends. More like family.
“Once you get over the age of 16, you’re all together. The best players play, regardless of your age but it’s good because you get to interact with old players and younger players and compete with them.
“The boys that are there now deserve their chance because they are good players.”
Mavididi also talked about training with Cristiano Ronaldo, rubbing shoulders with Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, and his dream of playing for England in the interview, which you can read here.
