Arsenal complete signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle

Arsenal have officially announced the signing of Newcastle United captain, Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, on a four-year contract with an option for an additional year. The announcement was made on Saturday.

According to English media, the deal is worth around £75 million (equivalent to $101 million). With the addition of Guimaraes, one of the Premier League's most influential midfielders, manager Mikel Arteta gains a quality option for the Emirates side's engine room.

Speaking on the club's website, Guimaraes expressed his excitement: "From the first time I spoke with sporting director Andrea Berta and Mikel, I was very excited. I felt in my heart that I needed a new challenge, and I think becoming an Arsenal player will be an exciting challenge in my career. I can't wait to get started. We have difficult matches ahead, so the squad will be very important, and I hope we can achieve our goals."

Guimaraes joined Newcastle from Olympique Lyonnais in January 2022 and quickly established himself as one of the league's standout players, playing a central role in the resurgence of the northeast club over the past three seasons. He is also a member of the Brazil squad for this year's World Cup and has been a regular for the national team in recent years.

This deal is another significant blow to Newcastle following the departures of key players such as Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali, and head coach Eddie Howe, who resigned and was replaced by German coach Matthias Jaissle.

With Guimaraes arriving at the Emirates, Arsenal have shown great ambition as they look to defend their Premier League title and strengthen their European campaign. The 28-year-old is renowned as one of the league's most complete midfielders, combining solid defensive abilities with creativity and attacking efficiency.

He has made 195 appearances for Newcastle across all competitions, scoring 31 goals. Notably, he captained the team to victory in the 2025 League Cup, ending the St James' Park club's long trophy drought.

Sporting director Andrea Berta praised the new signing: "As we have seen, Bruno can play as a defensive midfielder or as a box-to-box midfielder. He combines quality with quantity and has contributed goals and assists for his team every year. Bruno will help Mikel develop our style of play further and increase internal competition, which is very important to maintain the standards needed as we aim for major trophies."

Guimaraes's versatility is highly rated, as he can play effectively as a holding midfielder, giving Arsenal greater flexibility and tactical control. He will be a top addition to Arteta's already strong midfield options, including Declan Rice, Martin Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, and captain Martin Odegaard.

The addition of Guimaraes not only increases competition for starting spots but also helps Arsenal better manage the workload of key players, especially Rice, who was instrumental in the team's first Premier League title in 22 years last season.

Arsenal will begin their new campaign with a home match against newly promoted Coventry City on August 21.