Bruno Guimarães: "Declan Rice is a machine on the field, I'm learning a lot from him"

Arsenal's Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães has described teammate Declan Rice as "a machine on the field", saying he is learning a lot from the England midfielder.

Guimarães, who joined Arsenal from Newcastle United for about £75m in the summer transfer window, is showing signs that he can build a strong midfield partnership with Rice. The Brazilian has made 14 appearances in all competitions for the London club, scoring once each against Sunderland and Leeds United in the Premier League.

Speaking to ESPN Brasil, Guimarães described what happened during the transfer process:

"Ever since it was announced I was coming here, when everything was practically set, he sent me a message straight away. He said: 'We've had a lot of fights in the past, but now we're friends, we're going to play together. I'm really happy you're coming here. You're going to really raise the level of our team'. So he was a guy who had already won me over even before I arrived. I'd say he's a complete player; he's a machine on the field. He has the energy to run 22 kilometres in a game without stopping for a second. I'm learning a lot from him, since he's a very technical player. I think we have one of the best midfields in Europe. Declan is a guy who's been helping me a lot; I felt right at home."

Arsenal went into the international break top of the Premier League. Also discussing his adaptation to Mikel Arteta's ideas, the 28-year-old signed off by saying: "I'm happy here. Every day I'm getting a better understanding of Arteta's approach, which is completely different from what I was used to at Newcastle, and I'm getting used to my new teammates. Leaving your whole routine behind, it's not easy to switch clubs after nearly five years, but this is a huge challenge, and I'm ready for it."