Mikel Arteta heaped praise on new signing Christos Tzolis after Arsenal opened their Premier League title defence with a 3-0 win over Coventry City, while the Gunners boss also dismissed reports Bruno Guimaraes faces weeks on the sidelines.
The Gunners cruised to victory over newly promoted Coventry thanks to goals from Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard.
Tzolis, who had two assists in Arsenal’s 3-0 win over Manchester City in the Community Shield last weekend, was impressive once again in his first league game at Emirates Stadium.
The Greece international produced the cross that led to a tap-in for Saka for the second goal, and Arteta is delighted with what he has seen from Tzolis to this point.
“The way he has played in the last few games has been phenomenal,” Arteta told his post-match press conference. “He has an incredible variety of actions in the final third.”
Arsenal boss rejects Guimaraes reports
Guimaraes, Arsenal’s marquee signing from Newcastle United, missed the game due to a hamstring injury.
There have been reports that Guimaraes could be facing a prolonged absence, but Arteta assuaged such concerns.
“We expect that not to be weeks at all. Let’s see how he evolves this week,” Arteta replied.
Praising Arsenal’s overall display against Coventry, Arteta told Sky Sports: “There was a lot to like, we were really flowing with the ball and connected with each other.
“The overall performance was very positive.”
Coventry’s first game back in the top flight for 25 years is unlikely to be one that will decide their fate as they look to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
But Frank Lampard believes there is plenty his team can take from it.
“Clearly a big challenge,” Lampard told Sky Sports. “Fantastic team, a good lesson for our boys to see the levels.
“They played like champions. It was a difficult game for us, the experience of it is probably good for us in terms of the stadium, the atmosphere at the start of the game, the quality that they have. When you concede goals, not great from us and that’s the reality.”
“You’ll see more from us than that. Arsenal will beat a lot of teams here. There were some bits I didn’t mind. The lads deserve better than that. Our support was amazing. They understand we lost the game and will learn a lesson.”
