Bruno Guimaraes’s Arsenal Links Highlight ‘Painful’ Problem at Newcastle United

The Brazilian midfielder is wanted in north London.

Eddie Howe (left) is at risk of losing Bruno Guimarães to Arsenal. | Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images [Howe], George Wood/Getty Images [Guimarães]

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe admitted how “painful” it is to keep losing his best players amid Arsenal’s pursuit of Bruno Guimarães.

The defending Premier League champions might be stealing headlines for their surprise links to Real Madrid forward Vinícius Júnior, but they are already involved in another transfer saga closer to home. Guimarães is wanted in north London, and the Gunners are actively trying to pry him away from St James’ Park.

After seeing a $73 million (£55 million) offer for the Brazilian rejected by the Magpies, Arsenal are believed to be submitting an improved bid of $93.2 million (£70 million) to snag Guimarães’s signature. Reports claim the midfielder has already agreed to personal terms with the Gunners.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with Bruno’s future,” Howe told Sky Sports after Newcastle’s 1–1 preseason draw with Gateshead. “That’s for other people to speculate about, but also conversations that I’m not part of.”

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The Hits Keep Coming for Newcastle

Eddie Howe has seen his best players leave St James’ Park. | Michael Driver/MI News/NurPhoto/Getty Images

Losing Guimarães would be another unthinkable blow to Newcastle, who already bid farewell to Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali this summer. The former inked a five-year deal with Barcelona while the latter joined Tottenham Hotspur for a club-record £100 million ($132.8 million).

Not to mention, the Magpies lost Alexander Isak to Liverpool last September. Newcastle went on to finish 12th in the Premier League, failing to qualify for European soccer. The potential to join a bigger club and a fresh project is simply too much for some of Howe’s biggest names to pass up, especially for Guimarães, who has the new English champions knocking on his door.

“We don’t want to lose our best players. That’s an obvious statement to make,” Howe said. “So, losing [Gordon and Tonali] is painful for us, and difficult.

“For me, it’s been another challenging summer so far, but we’re always trying to do our best for the football club, short and long-term, and try and get the squad in its best shape.”

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Where Howe Stands With Guimarães

Eddie Howe (left) and Bruno Guimarães found great success together. | Ryan Crockett/DeFodi Images/DeFodi/Getty Images

Despite Howe’s vocal discontent with the state of his club’s transfer window, he did not have a bad word to say about Guimarães amid the Brazilian’s links with Arsenal.

“We’ve had some really good conversations, before the World Cup, during the World Cup and after the World Cup,” Howe stated. “What we speak about obviously has to remain private, but just a great player, a great person.”

Guimarães joined Newcastle from Lyon in Jan. 2022 and went on to make 195 appearances. He was a crucial part of the club’s Carabao Cup triumph in 2024–25, ending its 70-year domestic trophy drought.

The midfielder’s amibitons seemingly outweigh his loyalty to Howe, though, and a new chapter of his career could be on the horizion if Arsenal submit an offer Newcastle are willing to accept.

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