There will be a moment when Arsenal fans wonder what, exactly, they have signed in Bruno Guimaraes.
It will most likely come during a recovery run when he struggles to, well, recover. He can look like that, an expensive car jammed in second gear. During the opening game of the 2024-25 season, Newcastle staff were alarmed when referee Craig Pawson out-sprinted him as play switched ends.
There might be a few double-takes over his kicking action, too. A futsal upbringing has left him with a curious, shovelling technique, as if trying to lift a deflated ball. He will rarely strike cleanly on goal from 25 yards or ping a first-time pass further still to turn defence into attack. At times, it all looks a bit untidy and forced.
And yet, to Newcastle United, he was their force of nature.
Guimaraes is as unique a footballer as you will find. His qualities cannot be measured by a mark out of 10. Sometimes, they cannot even be detected by the naked eye. Hence the doubt and debate that has followed him at various points during his four-and-a-half years on Tyneside.
The same has been true of analysis of Guimaraes in the yellow of Brazil. Journalists and supporters have never been entirely convinced of his worth as a starting midfielder.
Bruno Guimaraes is a rare talent – but when he’s not cast as the leading man, do the lights fade?
At Arsenal the Brazilian will have to adapt to being a cog as opposed to the wheel. He has to play with, not merely alongside, the likes of Declan Rice
Former Newcastle boss Eddie Howe was occasionally asked about his captain responding to criticism on the back of an international break. Following a 2-0 defeat by Uruguay in 2023, one outlet concluded that Guimaraes ‘did not come close to the protagonism he has at Newcastle’.
And that is the biggest question he must answer at Arsenal – when not cast as the leading man, do the lights fade? Some who have worked with him at St James’ Park are curious as to how he performs without the armband, without the thrill of being the white knight riding to the rescue.
That was Guimaraes at his best. He could be part of the problem for an hour, but if Newcastle were a goal down kicking towards the Gallowgate End with 30 minutes to play, he was the solution. With the armband came a superhero’s cape.
You cannot be that player without being a very talented footballer, of course. His loss to Newcastle is the greatest of all this summer. But there was a reason Howe made him captain in the summer of 2024, despite the decision upsetting one or two more senior team-mates.
He believed Guimaraes would raise his level given the responsibility, and he did. It was an inspired choice and, with it, the midfielder was inspirational when his team needed him most.
There is, however, a myth that Newcastle possessed the best midfield in the Premier League when Guimaraes, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton were together. On paper, the trio appeared almost perfectly complementary. Yet speak to those inside the club and they will tell you that the theory did not translate into practice as much as it should have done.
When it clicked, it tended to do so on the biggest occasions against the strongest opposition, under the brightest lights and in front of the biggest television audiences. The myth grew. Guimaraes and Tonali – now rivals in north London – could perform fantastically well, but it always felt independent of the other. Guimaraes was the ultimate team player, but more through individual heroism than collective control.
What does this mean for Arsenal? The £75million signing has to adapt to being a cog as opposed to the wheel. He has to play with, not merely alongside, the likes of Declan Rice.
Guimaraes was the ultimate team player at Newcastle, but more through individual heroism than collective control
There might be a few double-takes over his kicking action, too. A futsal upbringing has left him with a curious, shovelling technique
There is every chance he draws motivation from the pressure and expectation of playing for the champions. He likes, and needs, attention. His charisma demands a stage. He is not going to sit diligently in midfield and carry the water, nor have Arsenal bought him to do so. He wants to be the man who makes the wine and is toasted at the end of the day.
He could absolutely be that player for Arsenal. They will spend more matches on the front foot. His instinct to play forward, carry the ball and drive his team up the pitch is his undeniable strength. But there remains a suspicion that his genius craves a particular situation – when the chips are down, he steps up.
Then there is the question – a more recent one – of his durability. Guimaraes has been a warrior for Newcastle. He seldom missed a match and, on the rare occasions he did, the team looked lost in his absence.
However, a serious hamstring injury suffered in February was so out of keeping with what had gone before, sidelining him for two months, some have wondered if such muscle issues could reoccur. He turns 29 in November and his mileage is high, quite literally given he covered the most in the Premier League in 2024-25.
None of this is definitive. But there is enough doubt, and with it great intrigue, as to how Guimaraes makes the transition. Jamie Carragher said this week that the Brazilian must be better than what he sees, because everyone tells him how good he is. Yet Carragher’s uncertainty is understandable.
Because to understand Guimaraes – to know what he is and what he is not – takes time and exposure. At Arsenal, he will, in part, have to reinvent himself. What is certain is that they have bought a special player and a special person. This season, we will discover if that magic has travelled with him.
