There is something rather enjoyable about Mikel Arteta having a new toy to play with.

For years, Arsenal supporters have watched the manager obsess over midfield combinations. Who plays as the six? Who gets forward? Who protects the full-backs? Who can carry the ball? Who can win it back? Who can actually receive it under pressure?

Now Arteta has another rather expensive answer to those questions – Bruno Guimaraes.

The Brazilian arrived from Newcastle for £75m, bringing with him the slightly ridiculous luxury of being able to play almost anywhere in midfield. He can sit, tackle, press, carry, pass through lines and arrive in the box. He can be the destroyer and the creator.

So, naturally, the question is: what on earth does Arteta do with him?

The obvious answer is that there shouldn’t be one answer.

That is probably the point of signing him.

Arsenal have reached the stage where the midfield shouldn’t simply be picked by putting the three best names on the teamsheet and hoping they work.

Different opponents require different solutions. A team sitting in a low block needs something different from a side trying to suffocate Arsenal’s build-up. A physical midfield requires different qualities from a technical one.

And Arteta now has the personnel to actually respond to those problems. He just needs to learn how to get the best out of them.

Take Declan Rice. He is the great all-rounder. He can cover huge amounts of ground, defend transitions, carry the ball and arrive in dangerous areas. He is at his best when he can use his athleticism to influence the game rather than constantly having to drop into the first phase of build-up.

Then there is Martin Zubimendi.

The Spaniard is the organiser. He gives Arsenal that calmness in front of the centre-backs and, perhaps most importantly, is comfortable receiving the ball when the opposition is pressing. He offers structure.

If Arsenal need someone to keep the midfield connected and make the first pass out of defence, Zubimendi makes an awful lot of sense.

Myles Lewis-Skelly brings something different again.

There is still an element of chaos to him, but the good kind. He is aggressive, technically assured and comfortable receiving the ball in tight areas and is probably our best press resistant midfielder.

His emergence has given Arsenal another player who can alter the shape without necessarily changing the personnel. Arteta has already trusted him in major matches, and his development as a midfielder gives Arsenal another option rather than simply another body.

And then there is Bruno.

This is where things get interesting.

Bruno doesn’t quite fit neatly into the boxes occupied by the others. He has Zubimendi’s willingness to receive the ball deep, Rice’s physicality and the ability to play further forward. But he also has that wonderfully irritating Brazilian quality of wanting to get involved in everything.

He wants the ball.

He wants to win the ball.

He wants to pass the ball forward.

And, occasionally, he wants to kick somebody into the next postcode.

That makes him incredibly useful, but it also creates a tactical question.

The first attempt at using Rice, Bruno and Martin Odegaard together came at Brighton, and it did not go particularly well. Arsenal’s midfield struggled badly against Brighton’s pressure, and the balance of the three wasn’t quite right.

Nether Bruno or Rice are at their best when picking up the ball with their back to the pitch. They are much better facing forward.

Brighton’s press meant both often found themselves deeper than they would have liked, and requiring to turn on the ball to face forward. Too often when they received the ball it went straight back to the defenders, putting more pressure on us.

In hindsight, Saturday’s game would have been more suited to a Zubimendi or MLS in the team. Someone who can play on the quarter turn, drop a shoulder to get out of the press and then progress the ball forward.

But that shouldn’t mean the Bruno, Rice and Odegaard gets thrown in the bin.

It means Arteta has learned something.

Perhaps against certain teams, Bruno and Rice rotating as the deepest midfielder is exactly what Arsenal need. Against others, it may leave the build-up lacking a natural organiser.

That is where Zubimendi becomes important.

And that is where Lewis-Skelly becomes important.

Arsenal don’t have to play the same midfield every week.

Against a team that wants to attack Arsenal and leave space behind, imagine Bruno and Rice together. There is enormous energy, ball-winning ability and carrying power there. Bruno can step forward while Rice covers. Or Rice can push on and Bruno can hold.

Against a deep block, perhaps Bruno’s passing and ability to arrive in the box becomes more valuable, while Zubimendi provides the platform behind him.

Against an aggressive pressing side, Zubimendi or Lewis-Skelly might make more sense because Arsenal need someone comfortable taking the ball from the centre-backs and turning under pressure.

That is the beauty of this squad.

Arteta’s job now is not finding the midfield.

It is finding the right midfield.

And that may take a little experimentation.

Bruno Guimaraes is the new toy, but the temptation will be to play with him every time simply because he’s shiny and expensive. The better solution is to work out what each opponent demands and then decide which combination gives Arsenal the best answer.

Rice, Zubimendi, Bruno and Lewis-Skelly are not competing for one identical job. They overlap, certainly, but their strengths are different enough to give Arteta genuine tactical choices.

The Brighton game was a reminder that having excellent midfielders doesn’t automatically create an excellent midfield.

Keenos