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Mikel Merino has said Arsenal currently boast the best midfield in world football following the acquisition of Bruno Guimaraes, The Sun reports.
The Gunners’ new £75m box-to-box midfielder made his debut in Arsenal‘s 1-1 draw with Como on Wednesday night and had fans and team-mates alike singing his praises at full-time.
Guimaraes, 28, will join the likes of Merino, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi and Myles Lewis-Skelly – scorer on the night – in midfield, and World Cup winner Merino thinks there is no group stronger.
The Spaniard 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.
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“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.”
The Brazilian is expected to partner Declan Rice at the base of Arsenal’s midfield, and could make his first competitive appearance under Mikel Arteta in the Community Shield against Manchester City on Sunday.
That game will provide a good insight into whether Merino’s claims are correct, with the Arsenal trio matching up against Enzo Maresca‘s midfield trio of Elliot Anderson, Tijani Reijnders, and Phil Foden.
Perhaps Arsenal’s is the best in the Premier League, but PSG’s trio of Vitinha, Joao Neves and Fabian Ruiz would beg to differ with Merino, so too might fans of Liverpool, Chelsea and Barcelona – particularly if they sign Rodri.
And while some claim that the game is a “glorified friendly”, Merino insists there is no such thing as a friendly when you play for the Gunners.
