Why Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal is the ultimate statement of faith in Arteta

6 Aug 2026 17:31 BST | 4 min read

Suraj Radia | Editor

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The signing of Bruno Guimaraes is the biggest declaration in faith of Mikel Arteta as Arsenal continue to back their manager to build a dynasty in the Premier League.

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Guimaraes will become the most expensive midfielder above the age of 28 when he joins Arsenal from Newcastle for a fee of around €87.5 million and the club’s second largest signing of all time.

Current ETV

Bruno Guimarães

M, DM (C)

Newcastle

Bruno Guimarães

M, DM (C)

Newcastle

ETV Range

€51.1M - €62.4M

Arsenal may even end up going on to make their most expensive signing ever and breaking the British transfer record if they sign Vinicius Junior, with Real Madrid thought to be holding out for around €150m if they can’t convince the winger to sign a new contract.

Arteta’s side also had the highest net spend of any Premier League team last summer, exceeding the top spenders Liverpool due to the Gunners not raising as much revenue through sales.

Having not spent more than €186m in a 12-month period during his first three seasons at Arsenal, Arteta has eclipsed that amount exponentially in two of the last three years, highlighting the increased trust in him by the club over time.

Being allowed to spend heavily on a player with diminishing resale value in Guimaraes is a sign of Arteta’s power at Arsenal’s and the major catalyst to their trophy success in the last year.

How Arsenal have evolved their transfer policy under Arteta

In Arteta’s early years at the club, Arsenal adopted a policy of trying to make good deals for undervalue players, even if those players were perhaps flawed and of a lower level than the starters, which proved detrimental in injury-hit title challenges.

Previously, Arsenal had bolstered their squad with unproven players such as Jakub Kiwior and Fabio Vieira – signing who ultimately failed to make an impact at the club and left the team struggling at crucial points during their season.

Having finished second in 2022/23 – the club’s highest position in seven years at the time – Arteta was given more license to spend than ever the following summer, with an outlay of €235m on just three players in Kai Havertz, Jurrien Timber and club record arrival Declan Rice.

© IMAGO - Andrea Berta's time as Arsenal sporting director has seen a huge shift in transfer policy.

After then adding David Raya, Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino, Arsenal’s greatest shift came upon the arrival of sporting director Andrea Berta in 2025, who splashed out nearly €300m last summer to address all of Arteta’s biggest concerns.

Being allowed to add players such as Noni Madueke to squad as a bench option or rotating between Viktor Gyokeres and Havertz up front instead of relying on an unfit Gabriel Jesus is fundamentally what led Arsenal to not run out of steam last season and win the Premier League title.

The conscious choice to trust Arteta with vast sums of money, even if their value is purely on the pitch rather than their sell-on implications, has allowed Arsenal to add a prime Guimaraes to their already superior squad.

© IMAGO - Mikel Arteta has been rewarded for his squad building at Arsenal.

The trust shown by Berta in Arteta is perhaps like no other in world football and the Arsenal coach will be well equipped to repay the faith by building a dynasty with one of the most stacked squads in Premier League history.