Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta believes the club’s £75m signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United can help the Gunners take another step towards competing at the highest level.
The 28-year-old Brazil international completed his move to Arsenal and was unveiled to supporters at the Emirates Stadium ahead of the club’s pre-season friendly against Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Guimaraes did not feature in Arsenal’s 3-2 defeat to Dortmund but could make his debut against Como on Wednesday.
Arteta said Arsenal made a determined effort to secure the midfielder because of the energy, character and quality he can bring to the team.
“I’m delighted to have him. We see very clearly, especially the energy that he brought immediately to the training ground, the hunger, the desire to come here and create a big history at the club,” Arteta said.
“We want to go to the next level and are very, very much convinced that we’re going to need players with such a personality, desire and character to push everybody inside the organisation to go even higher.”
Guimaraes arrives at Arsenal after establishing himself as one of Newcastle’s most influential players since joining the club from Lyon in January 2022.
The midfielder made 153 Premier League appearances for Newcastle, scoring 30 goals and providing 25 assists, according to Premier League statistics.
His most productive Premier League campaign came in the 2025/26 season, when he scored nine goals and registered five assists in 29 appearances, despite missing some games.
Across his Newcastle career, Guimaraes has also demonstrated his defensive qualities, recording 293 tackles, 109 interceptions and 739 recoveries in the Premier League, highlighting his ability to contribute both with and without the ball.
Arteta believes that versatility will be particularly valuable to Arsenal, with the Brazilian capable of operating in different midfield roles depending on the opposition and tactical demands.
“On the pitch, versatility to play in two different positions in relation to what we want or the opponent does,” the Arsenal manager said.
He added that Guimaraes possesses the ability to win possession, progress the ball quickly, create chances and make dangerous runs into the penalty area.
“He’s a player which obviously has tremendous timing and intuition to win the ball back and progress play very, very fast. He’s a player that is very comfortable putting people through, moving between the lines, moving in behind.”
“And then he’s a goal threat. He’s got a smell and a really good timing to get in the box. And he has the capacity to finish the actions.”
The arrival of Guimaraes further strengthens Arsenal’s midfield options, with Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Myles Lewis-Skelly, Ethan Nwaneri and Eberechi Eze also available to Arteta.
For Arsenal, the signing represents more than simply adding another midfielder. Guimaraes brings Premier League experience, physicality, ball-winning ability, creativity and an increasing threat in front of goal.
His experience at Newcastle, where he helped the club win the Carabao Cup and compete in the Champions League, could also prove valuable as Arsenal seek to challenge for major honours.
Arteta has indicated that Arsenal remain active in the transfer market and could make further additions before the window closes.
“If we have the right player in the market to make us much better, we are very much looking forward to that,” he said.
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