Raya hails Guimaraes as a 'warrior' ahead of Arsenal's Brighton test

David Raya has lavished praise on Bruno Guimaraes following the midfielder’s decisive contribution in Arsenal’s Premier League win over Sunderland, describing the Brazilian as a ‘warrior’ who brings maturity, leadership and technical quality to the squad.

Guimaraes, who joined from Newcastle in the summer, came off the bench at the Stadium of Light and made an immediate impact — scoring a stunning strike before combining with Mikel Merino to play Bukayo Saka through for a late penalty. The performance drew admiring words from goalkeeper Raya, who highlighted just how important the squad’s depth has become.

“It is incredible,” Raya said of Guimaraes’ influence. “Obviously, Bruno has been very unlucky with his start. He had two little injuries that kept him out of the team. It is not only the starters, but the people coming from the bench who are really important. We had Bruno scoring, and then he and Merino made the pass for Bukayo to win the pen. The whole squad is going to be very important throughout the season.”

Raya was equally effusive about the 28-year-old’s physicality and football intelligence. “He brings a lot of things. He brings maturity, competitiveness and leadership. He is a warrior, but he is so technically gifted. He reads the game very, very well, and he will put his life [on the line] to defend and attack. He is a fantastic player to have with us — and hopefully he stays free of injury so we can enjoy him a lot.”

Arsenal now travel to Brighton on Saturday aiming to extend their 100 per cent Premier League record, with Mikel Arteta’s side looking to build on an encouraging start to the campaign.

However, not everyone is satisfied with how Arteta is managing his attacking options. Former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere has warned the manager that he risks wasting Viktor Gyokeres by keeping the Swedish forward on the bench. Speaking about the summer signing, Aliadiere said: “I think he’s just got to be patient, keep the faith, have a strong mindset and mentality and really believe in his quality and that he will turn things around. Obviously, I know how difficult it is when suddenly you’re not playing and you’re on the bench and you don’t really understand why. When you look at it, he was the top scorer last year.”

Aliadiere’s comments reflect a broader debate at the Emirates over how best to deploy Gyokeres, who arrived amid significant transfer speculation but has yet to establish himself as a regular starter under Arteta.