Arteta plays down Bruno Guimaraes injury fear ahead of Aston Villa clash

Mikel Arteta has moved to ease concerns over Bruno Guimaraes, insisting the £75m Arsenal signing is unlikely to miss significant time after the Brazilian midfielder sat out the club’s 3-0 Premier League opener against Coventry at the Emirates Stadium on Friday.

Guimaraes, who joined from Newcastle United this summer, picked up a thigh strain during last weekend’s Community Shield. Speculation had mounted that the injury could sideline him for several weeks, but Arteta was quick to dismiss those fears when speaking to reporters after the Coventry win.

“No, no, no. We expect that not to be weeks at all,” Arteta said. “Let’s see how he evolves this week. He didn’t even want to stop. He wanted to carry on. Now we start to understand the character of the player, but I don’t expect that to be a big issue.”

Arteta confirmed the club would assess Guimaraes during the week, with the hope that he will be available for Arsenal’s next fixture against Aston Villa on Monday.

The Arsenal manager also addressed speculation linking the club with Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez, playing down the prospect of a major late move in the transfer window. “I’m really happy with the squad that we have, and the main focus is to improve the players that we already have because we already have a lot of good teams,” he said.

Meanwhile, Coventry manager Frank Lampard acknowledged the size of the challenge his newly-promoted side faced on their return to the top flight. “It was tough, we don’t like the result and it was a big learning curve for the players,” Lampard said. “Arsenal away won’t define our season.”

Lampard paid tribute to his players’ attitude despite the heavy defeat, noting the step up in intensity from the Championship. “You feel the level go up when you drive up to the Emirates. The players showed the right application and desire to compete. We played against the best today and now we have to find a way to improve.”