Mikel Arteta has said Arsenal hope new signing Bruno Guimaraes could be back for their Premier League match against Aston Villa next Monday. The Brazil international, the club's £75m summer purchase, missed Friday's 3-0 win over Coventry with a thigh strain.
Arteta plays down injury fears
There had been suggestions the former Newcastle midfielder could be sidelined for several weeks. But Arteta dismissed that and said they would assess him this week in the hope he would be available for the next game.
When asked if Guimaraes could be out for weeks, Arteta said: "No, no, no. We expect that not to be weeks at all. 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."
No mega move for Alvarez
Arteta also played down suggestions Arsenal would make a major move for Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez after strong links in Spain. He added: "As I said, 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."
Coventry learn from Emirates defeat
Coventry boss Frank Lampard admitted the game was a sharp lesson for his newly-promoted team. He said: "It was tough, we don't like the result and it was a big learning curve for the players. Arsenal away won't define our season.
"They kept going. For a lot of the players, they had Premier League debuts. The noise before the start, I remember that noise and it's very different to 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. I have sympathy with the players. We played against the best today and now we have to find a way to improve."
