Mikel Merino: Arsenal Have ‘Best Midfield In Football’ After Bruno Guimaraes Signing

Mikel Merino believes Arsenal now have the best midfield in world football following the arrival of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United.

The Brazil international, signed for £75m, made his first appearance for the Gunners in Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw with Como and quickly impressed both supporters and his new team-mates.

Guimaraes, 28, is set to compete for midfield places alongside Merino, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly, who scored Arsenal’s goal against Como.

Merino was full of praise for the new signing after the match. He said, “He’s proven how good he is over the years at Newcastle and he showed it again tonight.

“He’s composed with great technical ability and a lot of defensive efforts as well, it’s a very good signing and he’s a top player but we have a lot of those in our team.

“We probably have the best midfield in football, the amount of quality players we have there, and everyone can come on and put in a good shift, it’s great for the team.”

Guimaraes is expected to partner Rice at the base of Arsenal’s midfield and could make his competitive debut when Mikel Arteta’s side face Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday.

The fixture will offer an early test of Merino’s bold assessment, with Arsenal’s midfield expected to come up against City’s options, including Elliot Anderson, Tijani Reijnders and Phil Foden.

Arsenal’s midfield will have plenty of competition for the title of the Premier League’s best, while Paris Saint-Germain can also point to their trio of Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz.

Liverpool, Chelsea and Barcelona also have strong claims, particularly if Barcelona complete a move for Rodri.

But Merino believes Arsenal’s quality runs deeper than just the starting XI.

And despite suggestions that the Community Shield is little more than a glorified friendly, the Spaniard insists Arsenal will treat the game seriously.