RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta made clear in the immediate aftermath of the Gunners' Premier League title win that they would need to be ambitious to build on their success - and the club have backed him with the move to sign Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes .
Arsenal won the league for the first time in 22 years last season and reached the Champions League final where they were beaten by Paris St-Germain.
But as soon as the curtain came down on that campaign and the parade to celebrate their new silverware had finished, Arteta's thoughts moved to taking Arsenal to a "different dimension".
And with Brazil's Guimaraes set to be part of a new-look Arsenal midfield, the club believe they are signing a player who will do exactly that.
Arteta has always been keen on signing players with Premier League experience and who have shown they can operate with the demands at the highest level.
And with the addition of the 28-year-old, the club's aim of creating one of the best midfields in world football is a step closer.
There are a number of reasons why Guimaraes was the player Arteta decided can ensure Arsenal are ready to fight on multiple fronts.
The Gunners were plagued with injuries last season and, despite a £250m spend in the last summer transfer window, a player's robustness has always been considered when making signings.
Arsenal played 63 games in all competitions last season and have revamped their medical department before the new campaign.
Christian Norgaard, who is set to move to Everton , was brought in last summer but was not trusted by Arteta and was limited to just seven appearances and one start in the league last season.
That put heavy demands on Martin Zubimendi and Declan Rice, with the former dropping out of the side completely as the amount of work he was asked to do took its toll during the run-in.
Rice is coming back from a World Cup campaign where he helped England reach the semi-finals after a season in which he played the most minutes of any outfield player at Arsenal .
Rice has been carrying a hamstring issue but rest is expected to have helped to ease the problem, with Guimaraes' addition ensuring there will be no dip in quality if Arteta rotates his starting XI, while the ceiling of the midfield is raised too.
Arteta is known for demanding intensity in training and with Guimaraes set to join a midfield stocked with Rice, Zubimendi, captain Martin Odegaard, Eberechi Eze, Mikel Merino, Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, there will be no shortage of competition.
Arsenal have a leadership group that supports club captain Odegaard but, with the addition of Guimaraes, they will be bringing in a player who is a natural leader.
Guimaraes became Newcastle 's talisman during his time at St James' Park and, as Arteta looks to maximise every marginal gain he can, the Brazilian's ability and his way of connecting with supporters will be another weapon.
Arsenal have had campaigns seriously affected by injury, but Guimaraes has missed just 16 Premier League games since he signed for Newcastle in 2022.
And his impact is backed up by the fact Newcastle 's win percentage (12.5%), points per game (0.7), average goals for (0.8) and even average goals against (1.6) all suffer in the top flight when he is not available.
Although it is an admittedly larger sample size, Opta data shows that Newcastle 's win percentage (50.7%), points per game (1.7), average goals for (1.9) and average goals against (1.3) have been significantly higher when Guimaraes has featured.
Guimaraes was Newcastle 's top scorer in the league last season with nine goals and he provided four assists for Brazil at the World Cup in his five starts.
Despite missing six games with hamstring injury towards the end of last season, Guimaraes still ranked in the top five players across the league for defensive line-breaking passes (46) and through balls (21).
He also led the way at Newcastle for passes under high intensity pressure (998), which illustrates how he relishes responsibility.
Staff at Newcastle have called him an "inspirational" figure and Arsenal and Arteta will be hoping he can produce the same feeling at Emirates Stadium.
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