Martin Odegaard and Riccardo Calafiori praised Arsenal summer signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis following their positive displays in the Community Shield win on Sunday.
Arsenal eased to a comfortable 3-0 Community Shield victory over Manchester City on Sunday, with summer signings Bruno Guimaraes and Christos Tzolis playing a big part in the eventual result.
Guimaraes only played the first 45 minutes of the match, but his tough tackling and forward passing were key to the team making such a fast start. As for Tzolis, the left-winger provided two assists to keep his fantastic pre-season form going ahead of the Premier League’s start date.
Arsenal captain and Player of the Match Martin Odegaard had praised for both of his new teammates after the final whistle.
“I think [Bruno Guimaraes has] been unbelievable since the first moment,” Odegaard told TNT Sports.
“He’s come in here and felt like such a natural part of the team, although we had some big fights in the past! You see his quality on the pitch, he’s so good on the ball but he’s also a fighter, he wins the ball.
“Christos [Tzolis] as well, on the left. I think he had two assists today and a strong performance as well.”
Riccardo Calafiori also had nice words to say about the two players, as he and Tzolis work to build a new connection on Arsenal’s left-hand side.
“Obviously I played three or four games already with Christos, I think he was one of the best players on the pitch today,” Calafiori said.
“Bruno as well, always trying to play forward, I like this kind of player. I don’t know what happened (with his substitution), he wasn’t that fit maybe, it was the first game. [But] it’s a long season, I’m really happy to have him in the squad.”
There was indeed some fitness concern for substituted Guimaraes in the second half, with the player shown to be wearing an ice pack on his thigh whilst on the bench.
But the midfielder seemed to be alright later on, removing the strapping to join the post-match celebrations. With any luck, he’ll be fine to face Coventry City on Friday.
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