Why Arsenal were so keen to sign Guimaraes

After weeks of speculation, Arsenal have finally landed one of the standout signings of the summer, swooping in for Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes for a reported £75 million fee.

It is a statement signing in every sense. Fresh from ending their 22-year wait for the Premier League title, Mikel Arteta had made one thing crystal clear, that is Arsenal could not afford to stand still.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

Defending a championship is often harder than winning one, and if the Gunners were serious about building a side capable of dominating English football, reinforcements had to improve the first XI.

Arteta has long favoured players already proven in the Premier League -- footballers who understand the league's relentless physical and tactical demands and can make an immediate impact. And few midfielders in Europe ticked more boxes than Guimaraes.

At 28, the Brazilian arrives in north London at arguably the peak of his career, bringing the rare combination of technical quality, physicality and leadership that instantly elevates Arsenal's midfield.

Among midfielders across Europe's top five leagues, he ranks in the top 10 percent for deep progressions, progressive passes and through balls, while also sitting in the 94th percentile for ground duels won per 90 minutes.

There is still a tendency to describe Guimaraes as a destructive midfielder first and foremost. That label no longer tells the full story as he has become Newcastle’s all-in-one man. His attacking game has evolved dramatically over the last two seasons, transforming him into Newcastle's most influential all-round footballer.

Last season was comfortably the most productive campaign of his career. He finished as the Magpies' leading scorer and assist provider in the Premier League, registering nine goals and five assists -- the joint-highest goal tally in the league among midfielders alongside Casemiro.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe increasingly encouraged Guimaraes to operate higher up the pitch, where his vision and willingness to play forward became one of Newcastle's primary creative outlets. He remains capable of screening a defence, but he now spends just as much time arriving in dangerous areas, threading passes through compact defensive lines from the middle of the park and supporting attacks around the edge of the penalty area.

International football reflected that evolution too. Although Brazil endured another disappointing World Cup, crashing out to Norway in the Round of 16, Guimaraes emerged as one of the few bright spots, finishing the tournament with four assists in five matches, a tally bettered only by Michael Olise's seven.

That growing attacking influence also strengthens the belief that he is a natural fit as one of Arsenal's advanced No. 8s in Arteta's 4-3-3 -- a midfielder capable of controlling games from deep while still being influential in the final third.

If there was one criticism of Arsenal's title-winning campaign, it was that, in possession, they could sometimes become too predictable.

Against organised low blocks, there were occasions when the Gunners looked short of ideas from open play. They eventually found solutions, often through moments of individual brilliance or their outstanding prowess from set-pieces, but there were games where the midfield recycled possession too much rather than accelerate attacks.

That is precisely where Guimaraes comes in. He constantly looks to play forward. Rather than simply retaining possession, he searches for ways to break lines, wriggle out of tricky positions to speed up attacks and force opponents onto the back foot. It is a quality Arsenal occasionally lacked last season, with even captain Martin Odegaard drawing criticism at times for favouring patient circulation over brisk penetration.

And as for the all-in-one tag, Guimaraes possesses the passing range of a deep-lying playmaker, the imagination of a No. 10 and the relentless engine of a classic box-to-box midfielder. One moment he is collecting possession in front of his centre-backs; the next he is crashing into the penalty area or releasing a teammate with a perfectly weighted through ball from the middle of park. He also has a knack for scoring from distance.

Despite missing six matches with a hamstring injury towards the end of last season, Guimaraes still finished among the Premier League's top five players for defensive line-breaking passes (46) and through balls (21).

Just as revealing is another statistic. He completed 998 passes while under high-intensity pressure -- more than any Newcastle player. It is a reflection not only of his technical quality but of his willingness to demand possession to make things happen for the team when games become complicated. That is, however, one part of his story. He is immensely useful at the other end of the pitch as well.

Across each of his four full seasons at Newcastle, he finished either first or second among the club's players for total duels won. Last season, he averaged 6.1 successful duels per 90 minutes -- more than any of Arsenal's central midfielders. His 1.6 tackles per 90 also topped Arsenal's midfield options, while only Declan Rice recorded more recoveries, edging him by the narrowest of margins (5.2 to 5.0).

A partnership featuring Rice and Guimaraes would give Arteta a formidable pairing in the middle of the park, comprising two remarkably mobile, combative midfielders capable of covering enormous distances, dominating duels and contributing decisively at both ends of the pitch.

It would also reduce the physical burden on Rice, whose workload has steadily increased over the past two seasons and who is reportedly managing an injury after another demanding campaign with England.

The same applies to Martín Zubimendi, who faded noticeably during the closing months after carrying a heavy workload.

For a club expecting to challenge simultaneously for the Premier League, Champions League and domestic cups, that depth may prove every bit as valuable as Guimaraes' quality.

On that front, his durability must have also been discussed with appreciation.

Arsenal’s title defence will demand another season of relentless intensity. Last year they played 63 matches across all competitions, and injuries stretched Arteta's squad to its limits despite a summer spending spree of around £250 million.

Since arriving from Lyon in January 2022, Guimaraes has missed just 16 Premier League matches. In an era where elite midfielders are increasingly sidelined by recurring muscle injuries and congested calendars, that consistency is almost as valuable as his football.

His absence, meanwhile, laid bare just how dependent Newcastle had become on him. Since January 2022, Newcastle won just two of the 16 league matches Guimaraes missed. With him in the side, Eddie Howe's team won 52.3 percent of their 153 matches and averaged 1.8 points per game. Without him, those figures collapsed to a 12.5 percent win rate and just 0.7 points per match. Everything seemed to have deteriorated. Newcastle scored fewer goals, and conceded more without their captain martialing the midfield.

Arsenal are no longer assembling a squad capable of challenging for honours. They are trying to build one capable of staying there. What Guimaraes does offer is something every champion needs -- reliability, personality and the ability to influence matches in almost every phase of play. That could make him one of the most significant signings of the summer.