Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal confirmed: Arteta’s dream XI revealed

Updated: 5 Aug 2026 09:49 BST | 5 min read

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

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Bruno Guimaraes will become an Arsenal player, with the deal only lacking an official stamp before he completes his long-awaited move away from Newcastle to the Premier League champions.

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With the transfer fee reported in the region of €90 million (£70m), Arsenal are getting themselves a comparative bargain in what has been a very competitive market for central midfield players.

Forget that Bruno’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) sits at €63.1m, for certain clubs, the usual rules have been put on hold by a unique set of market circumstances that have driven prices up beyond recognition.

Current ETV

Bruno Guimarães

M, DM (C)

Newcastle

Bruno Guimarães

M, DM (C)

Newcastle

ETV Range

€56.8M - €69.4M

Central to this has been the clamour of the Premier League’s top clubs to sign central midfield players, with each of the traditional ‘Big 6’ involved in this market, even if Liverpool and Chelsea have so far kept their powder dry in regard to signings here.

This unprecedented summer has seen three transfers that touched the €100m mark, including Elliot Anderson’s blockbuster €135 million move to Manchester City, Sandro Tonali’s €108m switch to Tottenham and Matheus Fernandes’ remarkable €99m deal also with Spurs.

While Manchester United, for example, have sought to pick up comparative bargains, like Youri Tielemans, Arsenal have found a way to compete at the top end of the market without being bullied into paying an outrageous transfer fee.

It is elite work from sporting director Andrea Berta, who has furnished manager Mikel Arteta with another leading star to add to an already stacked starting XI.

Name	To	From	ETV	Actual Fee
Elliot Anderson	Man City	Nottingham Forest	€57.1m	€135m
Sandro Tonali	Tottenham	Newcastle	€66.6m	€108m
Mateus Fernandes	Tottenham	Wolves	€31.8m	€99m
Bruno Guimaraes	Arsenal	Newcastle	€63.1m	€90m

How will Arteta use Bruno Guimaraes?

Bruno is a multi-dimensional player. He’s not exactly the type of figure who can slot into different roles, which is a prototype Arteta loves, yet this ability to fulfil different midfield roles makes him attractive, but it also begs the question: how will he be used at Arsenal?

The Gunners’ stock formation last season was a 4-3-3, which alternated to a 4-2-3-1 on occasion.

Guimaraes was primarily used as a box-to-box player for Newcastle last season with extensive attacking responsibilities. Arteta will likely look to this as inspiration for the South American in North London.

Primarily, he will play in a midfield three, flanked by Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice. Martin Odegaard is set to be the player who suffers, with Bruno simply offering more energy, directness and impact going forward. Where the Norwegian slowed things down last season – a talent that will be valuable in controlling certain games – the Newcastle man will be more aggressive.

Despite this, the prospect of seeing Bruno employed as a No.10 at Arsenal is slim. Arteta already has players to cover this area, with Eberechi Eze likely to get more of an opportunity this season after a slow start last term. There will be situations where he will be used further forwards, but this will not be his primary role.

Bruno’s arrival, meanwhile, should not have a seismic impact on those around him, with the Arsenal side largely unchanged because of his arrival.

He takes the total transfer cost of Arsenal's projected starting XI to €550m – a figure kept low by the presence of academy graduate Bukayo Saka on the wing. Declan Rice is the most expensive player in the team, having signed from West Ham for a club record €116m.

Arteta’s side is setting down nicely, and Bruno’s arrival really only leaves the question of who will feature on the left wing open. This is an issue that should be resolved in the transfer market by the end of August.