Newcastle fans might have loved Bruno Guimarães for many reasons, but the 28-year-old Brazil midfielder summed it up best himself after being unveiled as Arsenal's £75m signing. "I can pass the ball, run a lot and play like a warrior. I'll never give up," he said, which is either a promise of relentless energy or a warning that he'll be very annoying to play against.

After more than four years on Tyneside, and having watched Alexander Isak, Anthony Gordon, and Sandro Tonali leave before Eddie Howe's departure, Guimarães - still devastated by that missed penalty for Brazil in their World Cup last-16 defeat to Norway - decided it was time to seize the moment. His emotional farewell statement insisted Newcastle "did everything they could to keep me," but at 28, he clearly figured this might be his only shot at a bigger stage.

Arsenal's sporting director Andrea Berta had a rough week when his pursuit of Vinícius Júnior ended with the forward signing an improved six-year deal with Real Madrid. But at least he finally landed a player the club had been eyeing since the early days of Mikel Arteta's reign. Edu Gaspar, Berta's predecessor, reportedly first enquired about Guimarães when he was at Athletico Paranaense, before he joined Lyon in January 2020 - just weeks after Arteta arrived at the Emirates.

Arsenal were also interested when Newcastle snapped him up for €40m in January 2022, a decision that came back to haunt them when Guimarães scored in a 2-0 win that helped deny Arsenal Champions League qualification that season. That goal, from his nine appearances against the Gunners, remains his only one against them, but he's consistently impressed in various roles - including in the 2025 Carabao Cup semi-final, which Newcastle won 4-0 on aggregate. Since his Premier League debut, he's covered more distance, won more duels, and committed more fouls against Arsenal than against any other side.

It's no wonder Declan Rice - the only player in the division to cover more ground than Guimarães in that span, and who had plenty of battles with him - was among the first to welcome him, messaging: "Come here and please no more fights, now we're friends."

Guimarães isn't wrong that Arsenal have "one of the best midfields" in Europe; last season proved it. But Rice, who played through the Champions League final and then spent the summer with England, has been dealing with neural pain in his hamstring and lower back since December, so he needs careful management. Guimarães can cover the box-to-box role and give Arteta more rotation options.

Arteta didn't seem to trust Christian Nørgaard - now at Everton - to deputise for Martín Zubimendi in the Premier League last season, which left the Spain midfielder running out of steam by spring. Teenager Myles Lewis-Skelly, who started the season as a left-back, ended up in his preferred deep midfield role during the title run-in and in the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest. Guimarães showed at Newcastle he can play deeper too, so Arteta has a pleasant headache deciding how to balance his midfield riches.

While Guimarães might not match Mikel Merino's goalscoring exploits for Spain, Martin Ødegaard showed signs of returning to form during the World Cup after another injury-hit, disappointing season at Arsenal. With Morgan Rogers off the table, the creative burden will fall on Ødegaard, Guimarães, and last summer's big signing Eberechi Eze to unlock stubborn low blocks.

Arsenal are still hunting for a defender to cover the extended absence of William Saliba, and they'd like another forward to complement Christos Tzolis. Atlético Madrid's Julián Alvarez or PSG's Bradley Barcola would fit, but a marquee arrival may depend on offloading Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus - the latter attracting interest from Napoli. Even if they go, the presence of fellow Brazil centre-back Gabriel should help Guimarães settle in. "Big Gabi was very excited," Guimarães told Arsenal's website. "Every time he sent me the message: 'We'll wait for you, when will you come?' I'm so excited to join them, not only the Brazilians, we have an amazing squad here."