Bruno Guimaraes tells Newcastle he wants to join Arsenal - David Ornstein

Updated: 8 Jul 2026 18:02 BST | 5 min read

Eddie Howe, Bruno Guimaraes, Mikel Arteta — © IMAGO

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Bruno Guimaraes has informed Newcastle of his desire to join Arsenal this summer.

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The Magpies are at serious risk of losing another key player following the departures of Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali for Barcelona and Tottenham, respectively.

At the end of June, Arsenal made a verbal offer for captain Bruno Guimaraes and, although this approach was rebuffed out of hand, it clearly had the desired effect: the Brazilian's head has been turned.

Current ETV

Bruno Guimarães

M, DM (C)

Newcastle

Bruno Guimarães

M, DM (C)

Newcastle

ETV Range

€56.8M - €69.4M

As exclusively reported by FootballTransfers last week, there was a growing concern at Newcastle over Guimaraes. The 28-year-old was known to be frustrated with the club's stagnation, and the Arsenal approach only added fuel to the fire.

We reported at the time that Newcastle still had the situation under control and that it would only escalate if the midfielder were to express a desire to leave. According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, this is exactly what has happened now.

Guimares wants to join Arsenal

Ornstein reports that Guimaraes has informed Newcastle of his desire to join Arsenal, which has resulted in the Gunners stepping up their pursuit of the Brazil international, who is now free to hold talks over his future after the Selecao's World Cup round of 16 exit to Norway.

Sources close to Brazil's camp told us last week that Guimaraes requesting to leave Newcastle was a realistic scenario. What happens now remains to be seen.

Ornstein understands that Arsenal are willing to pay around €70 million for the 28-year-old, but there has been no formal club-to-club contact yet. Newcastle have insisted that they don't want to sell, but Guimaraes' transfer request may force them to reconsider.

Arsenal are determined to sign the midfielder, but Newcastle are under no financial pressure to sell after pocketing more than €180m from the Gordon and Tonali sales. The only thing that could compel them to cash in on Guimaraes is the player's unhappiness.

At 28, Guimaraes likely feels that this is his final chance of joining a truly elite club. Newcastle, unfortunately, have not managed to reach the same level as Arsenal since the Saudi takeover in 2021.

Progress has been noticeable but ultimately not substantial enough. The careers of footballers are short, and Guimaraes is right to be angry that some of the promises made to him when he joined in 2022 were not kept.

Newcastle have been trying to build a new state-of-the-art training ground, but the realisation of that project is still thought to be years away. As we revealed last week, the sales of key players - Alexander Isak last year, Tonali and Gordon this year - have been a major source of frustration for Guimaraes.

Time will tell if Arsenal will be able to get their man, but what is already clear is that Newcastle have another Isak situation on their hands - and this is the last thing they needed, even if they appear better equipped for it than last year.

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