Bruno Guimaraes is set to become an Arsenal player, with only the official announcement left before he completes his long-awaited move from Newcastle to the Premier League champions.
The deal is reportedly worth around €90 million (£70m), giving Arsenal what looks like a bargain in a market where central midfielders have become extremely expensive.
Although Bruno’s Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) stands at €63.1m, current market conditions have pushed prices well beyond normal levels for clubs chasing top midfield talent.
Much of that is down to strong demand from the Premier League’s biggest clubs. Every member of the traditional ‘Big 6’ has been active in the search for central midfielders, even though Liverpool and Chelsea have yet to make a signing in that position.
This summer has already produced three deals close to or above the €100m mark. Elliot Anderson joined Manchester City for €135 million, Sandro Tonali completed a €108m move to Tottenham, while Matheus Fernandes also joined Spurs in a €99m transfer.
While Manchester United have looked for lower-cost options such as Youri Tielemans, Arsenal have managed to compete at the top end of the market without paying an inflated fee.
The move is another major piece of business by sporting director Andrea Berta, giving Mikel Arteta another top-quality player to strengthen an already impressive starting XI.
Bruno is a complete midfielder. While he is not the type of player who can fill several positions across the pitch, he can perform different midfield roles, making him a valuable option. That also raises the question of how Arteta plans to use him.
Arsenal mainly lined up in a 4-3-3 last season, although the team occasionally switched to a 4-2-3-1.
At Newcastle, Bruno mostly played as a box-to-box midfielder with major attacking duties. Arteta is expected to use him in a similar role in North London.
He is expected to play in a three-man midfield alongside Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice. Martin Odegaard is likely to be the player affected most, with Bruno offering greater energy, direct running and attacking threat. While the Norwegian helped slow games down when needed last season, Bruno is expected to bring a more aggressive style.
Even so, Bruno is unlikely to play as Arsenal’s No.10. Arteta already has options there, with Eberechi Eze expected to get more opportunities after a slow start last season. Bruno may occasionally feature further forward, but that will not be his main position.
His arrival is not expected to bring major changes elsewhere in the team, with Arsenal’s starting lineup remaining largely the same.
Bruno takes the projected starting XI’s total transfer value to €550m. That figure is helped by academy graduate Bukayo Saka, while Declan Rice remains the club’s most expensive signing after his €116m move from West Ham.
Arteta’s team appears close to being settled, with the only remaining question surrounding the left wing. That issue is expected to be addressed before the transfer window closes at the end of August.
Arsenal’s projected starting XI with Bruno Guimaraes:
- GK: David Raya
- RB: Jurrien Timber
- CB: Gabriel
- CB: William Saliba
- LB: Piero Hincapie
- CM: Declan Rice
- CM: Martin Zubimendi
- CM: Bruno Guimaraes
- RW: Bukayo Saka
- CF: Viktor Gyokeres
- LW: Christos Tzolis
