Soccer
Why Bruno Guimaraes' arrival cements Arsenal as the Premier League's team to beat
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With Arsenal still basking in the glory of being Premier League champions for the first time in two decades, the task ahead of the new season is to do something the Gunners have never done in the Premier League era.
For the history made by Arsene Wenger's double-winning side of 1998 and the Invincibles in 2004, Arsenal have never managed to retain their crown and go back-to-back.
However, with their nearest rivals all in a state of transition under new managers, 2026-27 already looked like being a year where the North Londoners could make club history, but now they've doubled down on the expectation with the impending arrival of Bruno Guimaraes.
Key signing
Arsenal fans may be getting giddy over the rumours of Vinicius Jr making his way to the Emirates, and while that still feels like something caught in fantasy land, the arrival of Guimaraes is almost a foregone conclusion.
With the clubs having already agreed a £75m fee for the Brazilian, it looks as though Mikel Arteta has made his first notable signing of the window, and although he may not come with the same pizzazz as his international teammate from Madrid, the signing of Guimaraes only solidifies Arsenal's status as title favourites.
In Guimaraes, they are picking up one of the league's best midfield performers and Newcastle club captain, and not only enhancing their midfield options, but upgrading them, too.
"This really gives Arsenal strength in depth in the centre of midfield," former Arsenal favourite Anders Limpar told DAZN News thanks to SBR - sportsbook reviews and Kalshi promo providers.
"He has been a very influential Premier League player for Newcastle, and now moving to Arsenal he can improve further.
"He is well up to speed with the Premier League so can fit in perfectly and with Declan Rice playing so many games for Arsenal, this has the potential to alleviate some of the load on Declan as Bruno can work well with the rest of Arsenal’s midfield.
"He would add extra strength, extra ball retention and physicality, which is essential for the Premier League. In the Champions League, he can also give an extra edge to enable Arsenal to retain possession.
"There is also a way now that Declan Rice can look to play in a more forward position to add more goals to his game and play alongside Bruno."
All that upside and without having the need to break the £100m mark, which their London rivals have had to do already this summer to bolster their midfield with the signings of Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes.
Hakan Akgun/Anadolu via Getty Images
Where will Bruno Guimaraes fit in an Arsenal XI?
The signing of the 28-year-old gives Arsenal an embarrassment of riches in the centre of the park, but it's hard to see that Guimaraes won't be first choice to sit alongside Declan Rice.
Not only will that allow Rice to continue the role he played last year, where he can venture further forward and affect the attack, but gives him a partner who offers more drive and dynamism than, say, Martin Zubamendi.
The Spanish midfielder had a solid first campaign in the club's title-winning side, but comparing the numbers between Zubamendi and Guimaraes, it would appear it's the Brazilian who could offer even more to the Arsenal engine room.
Despite playing fewer games in 2025-26, Guimaraes bettered his counterpart in goals, assists and goal involvements from an attacking point of view, as well as winning more duels (168 to 153) and making more dribbles (48 to 15) than Zubamendi.
And while the World Cup winner from this summer may have, as expected, made more passes, Guimaraes once again betters him with his accuracy with long passes and through balls.
The only argument Zubamendi can put forward is his more defensive attributes, where he made more interceptions and narrowly more tackles than Arsenal's new arrival.
However, that can be spun into another positive for the club, where there can be situations where both can play, and the Spaniard adapts the shield role with Guimaraes allowed further forward.
Ultimately, the signing makes the title favourites even stronger. Adding a proven Premier League midfielder at the peak of his powers to a squad that already looked odds-on to bag a second championship in a row.
Which is bad news for any of the chasing pack who had hopes of usurping the Gunners.
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