Arteta: Arsenal's signing is stunning, and Gimaraes's injury will not last long

A message of optimism

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has played down the severity of the groin injury suffered by midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, after he missed the team's 3-0 win over Coventry City on Friday.

Guimaraes limped through last weekend's Community Shield victory over Manchester City with an ice pack on his right leg before being forced off, an issue that ruled him out of the start of Arsenal's Premier League title defence at the Emirates Stadium.

Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard were all on the scoresheet as Arteta's side cruised to victory. Afterwards, the Arsenal boss refuted unconfirmed reports suggesting Guimaraes could be sidelined for a lengthy period.

Arteta said of the team's £75m summer signing from Newcastle: "We don't expect his absence to extend to weeks at all."

He added: "Let's see how his situation develops this week. He didn't even want to stop, he wanted to carry on. Now we are starting to understand the player's character, but I don't expect it to be a major problem."

Christos Tzolis also caught the eye on his home debut, and Arteta was quick to praise the fellow new arrival following his £34m move from Club Brugge.

The winger won back the ball to create Havertz's opener and teed up Saka for Arsenal's second. His lively display earned a warm ovation from the fans when he was substituted in the 76th minute.

"I love that a player who joined us just a few weeks ago has this kind of energy every time he has the ball," Arteta continued. "I think he deserves it, and I feel the way he has performed in the recent matches has been superb."

The Arsenal manager went on: "What he brings as a player is a very direct and decisive performance consistently. He wants to make things happen, and he has a wonderful variety of solutions in the final 30 metres. I think it is up to him to make the right decisions, even when the spaces are sometimes very tight. I am very pleased with what he offers."