Mikel Arteta has confirmed Arsenal will put new signing Bruno Guimarães through a late fitness test ahead of Friday’s Premier League opener against Coventry City.
Arsenal parted with $101 million (£75 million) to bring Guimarães over from Newcastle United and have so far seen him play 45 minutes in both a pre-season friendly against Como and the Community Shield victory over Manchester City. As he returned from the locker room last weekend, Guimarães had ice strapped to his right thigh, sparking obvious concern about his condition heading into the new season.
What Arteta said about Bruno Guimaraes’ fitness
Arteta insisted the issue is nothing serious, but stopped short of confirming whether the Brazilian will actually play on Friday. “Let’s see how he is,” Arteta said. “He’s evolving really well but let’s see for tomorrow.”
Arsenal’s midfield options if Guimaraes misses out
Fortunately for Arsenal, their midfield unit is well stocked regardless of the outcome. Club captain Martin Ødegaard has earned the chance to continue in attacking midfield after a stellar showing against City, while Arteta has plenty of options for the deeper pairing behind the Norway international. Young Myles Lewis-Skelly deserves another run out, though the academy graduate could become a victim of the senior quality surrounding him.
Martín Zubimendi and Declan Rice both came off the bench last weekend to continue building fitness after deep runs at the World Cup, with Arteta confirming both are “ready to be involved” for this fixture. The versatile Mikel Merino is also available again after his final few months of last season were disrupted by a foot injury.
Confirmed Arsenal absentees vs Coventry
While there are doubts over Guimarães, Arsenal know they will definitely be without defensive duo William Saliba and Jurriën Timber. Arteta is hopeful Saliba could return after the international break in September, while right-back Timber may be available slightly sooner. “I said in the next few weeks,” Arteta said on Timber’s situation. “He’s not training with the group yet.”
Ezri Konsa will not feature vs Coventry
Friday will also come too soon for expected new signing Ezri Konsa, whose $69.4 million move from Aston Villa will not be completed in time for the match. “We are really active in the market, I think I mentioned that a few days ago,” Arteta added. “The ambition is to improve the squad. We have a really specific issue in the backline, especially with the long-term injury of Wilo [Saliba] and the fact that we miss one more defender, that’s clear. So we are trying to reinforce that area. Whenever we’re ready, we’ll announce something.”