
Guimaraes came off at half-time against City (Picture: Sportimage) Arsenal midfielder Bruno Guimaraes could be sidelined ‘for a few weeks’ as a result of an injury picked up in the Community Shield against Manchester City. The midfielder completed his £75million move from Newcastle United this summer, featuring against Como in a pre-season friendly before starting in the Community Shield against Manchester City on Sunday. He helped his new employers take early control of the game before coming off at half-time at the Principality Stadium and was later spotted holding an icepack on his thigh. Speaking before Arsenal’s Premier League opener against Coventry City, Mikel Arteta was asked about Guimaraes’ injury after the Brazilian midfielder was left out of the squad. Exclusive Premier League previews Get ahead of the start of the season with our weekly football newsletter. Sign up now for free. ‘He had a slight tension in his groin,’ Arteta said. ‘He hasn’t done a pre-season, he only had four or five days before that [Man City] game. We have to take a lot of new stuff for him as well. We need to take it bit by bit.’ Arsenal line-up vs Coventry City Christos Tzolis has been handed his Arsenal debut against Coventry City (Getty) Starting XI: Raya, White, Mosquera, Calafiori, Rice, Lewis-Skelly, Odegaard, Saka, Tzolis, Havertz. Subs: Kepa, Hincapie, Eze, Gyokeres, Madueke, Nwaneri, Merino, Zubimendi, Dowman. Starting XI: Rushworth, Van Ewik, Thomas, Amenda, DaSilva, Grimes, Onyeka, Yirenkyi, Tchaouna, Thomas-Asante, Simms. Subs: Wilson, Rudoni, Sakamoto, Awoniyi, Kitching, Latibeaudiere, Eccles, Tarp, Hamer. Arsenal host newly-promoted Coventry before heading to Aston Villa in 10 days’ time, a Monday night fixture falling on 31 August. The Gunners then host Chelsea on 6 September. Arsenal will also be out the defensive duo of William Saliba and Jurrien Timber for their opening match of the season. The Arsenal midfielder started last weekend (Picture:Alamy Live News) Saliba is recovering from a back problem that is expected to rule him out for the opening months of the season with the club deciding against surgery in the summer months. Timber meanwhile has not started a game since March when he picked up a groin injury that derailed his season. The right-back is still to return to first-team training. Ezri Konsa completed his £55m move to Arsenal on Friday (Getty) On Friday, Arsenal also completed the signing of Ezri Konsa in a £55m deal from Aston Villa. ‘We needed one more player, we had seven players in the defensive line, we know that that’s not enough. We have two long-term injuries, one with Jurrien, and one with Willy,’ Arteta told Sky Sports when asked about the decision to sign Konsa. ‘And we wanted someone that didn’t have the qualities that we already have, so somebody ideally with experience, because as a centre-back in this league you cannot play jokes, we know how important that position is, and I think Ezri brings a lot of qualities that we needed.’ Comment now Comments Add Metro as a Preferred Source on Google Add as preferred source
