Why Arsenal could spend £116m to seal a better signing than Bruno Guimaraes

Despite signing Martin Zubimendi for £55m a year ago, one of the biggest priorities for Arsenal this summer is to bring a new midfielder to the Emirates Stadium.

The Gunners have a shorlist in place but after Elliot Anderson’s £116m move to Manchester City, trying to find a deal at a reasonable price will be very tricky.

On their radar is Bournemouth’s Alex Scott, valued at around £80m, while Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali has also been considered. However, Tottenham Hotspur are leading the race to sign the Italian right now and could pay a whopping £100m. They are already on the verge of landing Mateus Fernandes in an £85m transfer.

For Andrea Berta, it appears as though he would like to ignore all of that. Tonali’s teammate Bruno Guimaraes is the number one target but it will not be an easy deal to complete.

The latest on Arsenal’s pursuit of Bruno Guimaraes

If Arsenal are going to sign a midfielder they will have to pay a premium, that much is clear. Yet in Guimaraes could they actually secure a relative bargain?

With two years to run on his contract at St James’ Park, Mikel Arteta will certainly hope so.

Via intermediaries, they have already tested the waters with a £55m offer which, considering he is the Toon captain, was rejected rather quickly.

Yet, Arsenal are getting encouragement from the player’s camp that a move could be possible and they are set to open official club-to-club talks in the forthcoming weeks.

It’s thought a fee of £80m could be enough to prise him away from the north east, although they do not want to sell him. The Tonali situation could be key here. If he moves beforehand then there does feel as though there is little chance of Guimaraes departing too. Losing their two star players, as well as Anthony Gordon this summer would be catatstrophic for Eddie Howe.

If a move is not possible, it will be interesting to see what Arsenal do. Will it be Scott they go for? Could they even hijack Tottenham’s move for Tonali? Time will tell.

Either way, they must remain patient for the biggest priority over the next couple of months is to bring a new attacker to the Emirates.

Arsenal could spend big-money to seal a better signing than Bruno Guimaraes

In the shape of Guimaraes, Arsenal would land a brilliant signing. At the age of 28, he is in his prime, he’s the captain of a Premier League club and that valuable experience of English football always ticks a huge box for Arteta.

He can do it all as well. A genuine brute in midfield, he loves a yellow card but as his career develops, he is becoming a big threat in the final third too. The Brazilian carved out a lovely assist for Gabriel Martinelli’s late winner vs Japan earlier this week, a piece of play that was no surprise really. For Newcastle in 2025/26, the midfielder scored nine times and registered eight assists.

However good that move may well be, though, it would not top the addition of a new big-money winger, namely a certain Bradley Barcola. With it looking more and more likely that the Gunners could be priced out of a move to sign £130m-rated Morgan Rogers, they have turned their attention to the PSG star as an alternative.

The Daily Mail report that Liverpool and Arsenal are interested in prising him away from Paris and with the forward so far yet to put pen to paper on a new contract in the French capital, he could leave.

If he does indeed decide to depart the Champions League winners, Arsenal believe he would be ‘keen’ to join them this summer. That said, like Rogers, he will not come cheap. The winger’s valuation sits between £103m and £116m at the moment.

So, why would he be a better signing than Guimaraes? Well, Arsenal did have their issues towards the back end of the season in midfield. Zubimendi ended up falling out of the team following a lack of form. Yet, the real problem for Arteta during their title-winning campaign was on the flanks.

Leandro Trossard has only scored one goal at club level in 2026 while the aforementioned Martinelli scored just once in the Premier League across the entire season. They need an upgrade and they simply have to get one this summer.

While PSG were not at their best in the Champions League final at the end of May, only scoring from the spot, the difference between their attack and Arsenal’s is rather staggering. Arteta knows that if he is to take the Gunners to continental glory, they will need sizable upgrades to the forward line. Another midfielder would not bring them closer but a world-class winger would.

Barcola is one of the best in Europe, scoring 21 goals and registering a further 21 assists in 2024/25. Last season his output was down – netting 13 and providing seven goals for his teammates – but he was still truly electric out wide.

He ranked among the best 3% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90 minutes, as well as sitting in the best 5% for shots and the top 4% for expected threat and shot-ending carries.

The French superstar is a real livewire and has proven as much during the World Cup too where he has scored twice for Didier Deschamps’ side.

The fact PSG could have to sell a player like this is madness but it would no doubt be to Arsenal’s advantage if they were the ones to seal his signature. This is the type of player who could really take Arteta’s offensive line to a whole new level.