The chant that Newcastle United supporters once sang with pride — "Bruno could have signed for Arsenal, but he wanted to wear the famous black and white" — now carries a bitter irony. Four and a half years after arriving from Lyon in January 2022, Bruno Guimaraes has intimated his wish is to join the red half of north London. Arsenal are preparing a first bid for the Newcastle captain, who has pushed for a move to Mikel Arteta's Premier League champions.
Guimaraes kept a top hat inscribed "Bruno's magic hat" as a keepsake of the supporters' affection. He once declared at his unveiling that Newcastle could become a bigger club than Arsenal. But the Brazilian midfielder, who turns 29 in November, now appears ready to leave after a summer of high-profile departures. Sandro Tonali joined Tottenham Hotspur in a deal worth up to £100m, while Anthony Gordon moved to Barcelona for £69.3m. Alexander Isak also left in the past 12 months. Newcastle, fresh from a settlement with Uefa, have needed to sell to create headroom within financial rules. Losing Guimaraes, however, would be a different blow.
“Bruno Guimaraes pushes for Arsenal move as Newcastle face losing captain after Gordon, Isak and Tonali exits.”
Opta data shows the scale of his influence. Without him, Newcastle have won only two of 16 Premier League games — a win percentage of 12.5% — and average 0.7 points per game, 0.8 goals for and 1.6 goals against. With him, those figures rise to 50.7% wins, 1.7 points per game, 1.9 goals for and 1.3 goals against. "I would be absolutely devastated," said season ticket holder Liam Phillips. "His departure would be very symbolic in terms of what it says about the trajectory of the project. Newcastle have lost Isak, Gordon and Tonali in the last 12 months. To lose Bruno would be very alarming."
Arsenal, who carried out background checks on Guimaraes before Newcastle moved first, are keen to bolster their midfield options. The club's hierarchy face a cold argument that cashing in now makes financial sense, but Guimaraes remains the team's beating heart. His exit would signal a shift in ambition at St James' Park — one that even his own departure song could no longer sing.