Mikel Arteta has more midfield options than ever this season, and working out his best combination is still very much a work in progress.

Declan Rice has been a constant, but who partners him has changed from game to game. Myles Lewis-Skelly has tended to start at home, while the summer’s big-money arrival Bruno Guimaraes has been preferred for the tougher away trips. Meanwhile, Martin Zubimendi’s lack of minutes has led to speculation that he could leave in January.

Gary Neville has been weighing in on one of those options, and he’s compared him to one of the most expensive midfielders in Premier League history.

Gary Neville compares Bruno Guimaraes to Enzo Fernandez

Speaking on the same episode of Stick to Football where Roy Keane spoke about Arsenal’s work rate, Neville was asked what kind of player Enzo Fernandez is. The Argentine joined Manchester City for £125million in the summer, reuniting with his old Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca.

His answer brought him straight back to Arsenal. “I think Enzo is very similar to Guimaraes in his style of play, in terms of he’s a bit of a wanderer, and Arsenal are still trying to find out and work out how that’s going to work,” Neville said.

“But the problem is Enzo was £125 million and Guimaraes was £75 million, and I don’t think there’s a lot between them in terms of actual players.”

Neville also compared Bruno Guimaraes to Juan Sebastian Veron, describing him as a midfielder “you can’t really control”, who “can go and win you a game, but he can also empty midfield a little bit”. He reckons that in big games, Arteta will probably go with Lewis-Skelly and/or Zubimendi alongside Rice.

Bruno Guimaraes hasn’t fully clicked at Arsenal yet

That last part isn’t quite right. Bruno started the big games away at Bayern Munich and Liverpool, so Arteta clearly sees him as a key starter. You don’t spend £75million on a substitute.

But Neville does have a point. Right now, Arsenal look better — or at least more in control — with Lewis-Skelly next to Rice, and Bruno has been more effective as a game-changer off the bench.

That’s not to say the signing hasn’t worked. Bruno is a top player and has already had some big moments in an Arsenal shirt, scoring against Leeds and Sunderland and making that goal-line clearance at Anfield. But it hasn’t fully clicked yet, and on current form, it’s hard to argue he should be ahead of Lewis-Skelly.

The good news for Arteta is that he has the international break to work it out before the trip to Newcastle, where Bruno spent four and a half years before moving south.