There are less than two weeks until the Premier League returns, and while it’s sure to be an important season for every club, that’s probably truer for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta’s side will be hoping they can get over the line and end their two-decade title drought at the third time of asking after coming so close for the last two campaigns.
However, to do that, the Gunners need to bring in some more stars. While there are a plethora of super-talented players that Edu Gaspar and Co could bring in to supercharge the team, one in particular would be an incredible pickup.
The superstar in question has been heavily linked with the Gunners in the past, and while signing him could prove exceptionally challenging, he’d be an incredible addition to the midfield and form an unreal partnership with Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice.
The player in question is Newcastle United’s midfield general Bruno Guimarães, who, according to a recent report from The Mirror, remains a long-term target for Arsenal despite reaffirming his commitment to the Magpies in recent days.
However, as fans are well aware nowadays, a player’s platitudes mean very little in modern football, and so, while it might be unlikely, the Gunners should push to bring the former Lyon ace to the Emirates this summer.
If Edu and Co could work their magic and convince the 26-year-old to up sticks and move to North London, the club would have to stump up a massive fee, as reports this summer have claimed that the Toon value him at around £100m.
It would require a serious effort from Arsenal to get this transfer over the line, but if they have a chance, they have to take it, as a midfield three of Rice, Odegaard, and Guimarães would be incredible.
Okay, so let’s entertain this hopeful optimism for a little bit longer and examine a few of the reasons why Guimarães would be such an incredible signing for Arsenal, particularly for Rice and Odegaard.
The first is that, like the two Arsenal stars, the Toon ace has an extraordinarily clean injury record, with just eight games missed for club and country across his entire career thus far.
This resilience and ability to remain fit for entire seasons would make it much easier for him to form effective partnerships with those around him. Unlike Thomas Partey, for example, the 26-year-old could be relied upon to be there day in and day out.
The second reason the Rio de Janeiro-born ace would be great for Arteta’s midfield stars is his raw output.
In 50 games for the Magpies last season, he scored seven goals and provided ten assists, equating to a goal involvement on average every 2.9 games.
This means he’d be able to either get on the end of killer passes and score himself to boost his teammates’ assist tallies or play that killer ball himself, potentially helping Odegaard improve his goalscoring numbers from their already impressive level.
The final reason the “world-class” midfielder, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, would be such a great signing is his ability to play in either central or defensive midfield.
Across his career, he has played 160 games as a six and 63 as an eight, although when you look at his heatmap from last season, when he started more games as a six, you can see that his natural game is to venture forward.
This ability to do both would make him the perfect player to connect play between Rice and Odegaard in the middle of the park. He would help the former out with some defensive work when needed before flying forward to help the latter by either creating space or playing the ball himself.
Ultimately, this is a move that seems unlikely this summer and there is no getting away from that, but if Guimarães really is still a long-term target for Arsenal, then going all out to bring him in would be a bold statement and the perfect way to complete the team’s midfield at the same time.
