Arsenal have confirmed the signing of Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães from Newcastle United on a long-term contract, with the 28-year-old taking the number 39 shirt and joining up with his new team-mates immediately. The move remains subject to the completion of regulatory processes, the club announced.
The fee has been widely reported at £75m. BBC Sport reported that Guimarães signed a four-year deal with the option of a further 12 months, and that Newcastle wished the midfielder and his family well after he left the club’s pre-season camp in La Manga, Spain, to finalise the move to Emirates Stadium.
A move Guimarães calls the toughest of his career
Guimarães, Newcastle’s captain last season, said the decision to leave St James’ Park was one of the hardest he has faced. “This move is very tough because Newcastle means so much to me,” he told Arsenal’s official website after signing. “But I wanted to experience something new in my life. I feel ready for a new challenge for myself and my family.”
He arrives with silverware in mind at a club that won the Premier League title last season. “I’m at the point of my life where I need a challenge like this,” he said. “I want to win trophies, I want to make history and I think I’m in the right place to do it. I’m so excited to start.”
The Brazilian revealed he had already heard from his new team-mates, among them fellow midfielder Declan Rice, with whom he shared several hard-fought battles in the middle of the park. “Rice sent me a message: ‘Come here and please no more fights, now we’re friends!'” Guimarães said. “I was happy he messaged me.”
Four and a half seasons that changed Newcastle
Guimarães joined Newcastle in January 2022, when the club sat in relegation trouble, and made nearly 200 appearances in four and a half seasons. He was captain when Newcastle beat Liverpool in the 2025 Carabao Cup final, becoming the first Newcastle captain in seven decades to lift a major domestic trophy, and he helped the club reach the Champions League in 2023 and again in 2025.
His departure continues a significant summer rebuild on Tyneside. Matthias Jaissle has taken over as head coach following Eddie Howe’s exit, and the German was appointed on Wednesday with the squad being reshaped after a 12th-place finish in the Premier League.
Number 39, and an eye on Gilberto Silva’s legacy
Sporting director Andrea Berta described Guimarães as “a player with a great mentality and great quality, who will bring strong leadership to our squad”. The Brazil international, who has 48 caps and won a gold medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, will become the 17th Brazilian to play for Arsenal.
Guimarães wears 39 because of his father’s more than two decades as a taxi driver in Brazil, and he said he hopes to follow the path of Gilberto Silva, the midfielder who anchored Arsenal’s unbeaten 2003-04 title season. “I love him as a player,” he said. “I hope I can follow his history here and make myself one of the very good players at Arsenal in history.”
Arsenal host Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup on Sunday, with Guimarães now training with his new squad as the champions build towards the defence of their title.
