Guimarães on the Bench as Arsenal Faces Sunderland
Bruno Guimaraes will have to wait again for his first Premier League start in an Arsenal shirt, with the £75million summer signing named among the substitutes for tonight’s trip to Sunderland.
The former Newcastle captain has been eased in gently since his high-profile move to north London, his early weeks disrupted by minor injury problems that have stalled his momentum. He featured off the bench in the Champions League win over Napoli in midweek, and Mikel Arteta has opted to keep him in the same role at the Stadium of Light.
If he does get on, he knows exactly what is coming. A packed Sunderland crowd, watching a player who once wore black and white, is unlikely to offer a warm welcome. Every touch will be scrutinised, every misplaced pass seized upon.
Arteta shuffles his pack
Arteta does make changes from the side that edged Napoli 1-0 on Wednesday night. Christos Tzolis and Kai Havertz both return to the starting XI after only brief cameos in Italy, rewarded with full roles as Arsenal look to keep their domestic rhythm.
The bigger story in the background, though, is Jurrien Timber. The defender is named in a Premier League matchday squad for the first time since suffering injury in March. He had travelled with the group to Naples as his recovery accelerated but did not make the bench there; tonight marks a more tangible step in his comeback.
One player who does not make it is Mosquera. He remains sidelined after a muscle issue picked up in the win over Aston Villa, an injury that has now kept him out of three straight games.
Saliba still out long term
At the heart of Arsenal’s defensive planning sits a familiar problem. William Saliba remains unavailable for an extended spell after aggravating a long-standing back issue while on World Cup duty with France earlier in the summer. He has avoided surgery, but the timeline is still worrying for a side with ambitions on multiple fronts.
So Arsenal head into Wearside with a marquee signing waiting in the wings, a key defender still missing, and a returning one edging closer. The noise will be fierce, the reception for Guimaraes even fiercer. How long can Arteta keep him seated?
