Bruno Guimaraes: From Waiting to Arsenal's Midfield Star
Bruno Guimaraes knows all about waiting by the phone.
Six and a half years ago in Curitiba, he barely slept as he clung to the belief that his future lay in Madrid. He had dominated the Athletico Paranaense midfield, lifted trophies, charmed a fanbase. Now, he was sure, came the leap to Atletico.
A £26million deal was being pieced together. It felt real enough for him to fight back tears as he waved to the Furacão crowd after a 1-0 home win over Santos, a young star saying what he thought was his final goodbye. Christmas came and went. The January window opened. The call never did.
Atletico hesitated. Benfica stepped in with an offer. Then Athletico president Mario Celso Petraglia dropped a new name into the mix: Arsenal.
Edu, the Gunners’ technical director, had been tracking Guimaraes’ rise, his explosive energy and poise in a midfield that had just helped deliver four trophies, including the Copa do Brasil and Copa Sudamericana. Arsenal made a direct move to his camp. The interest was serious. The money was not.
With Arsenal counting the pennies, Lyon pounced. At the centre of it all stood Juninho Pernambucano, a Brazilian icon and one of Guimaraes’ childhood idols. Juninho knew exactly what to say.
Sign for Lyon and you can become one of the best midfielders in world football.
For a 22-year-old who had grown up watching Juninho win titles with Vasco da Gama before conquering France, that promise carried more weight than any signing-on fee. Guimaraes, a devoted Vasco supporter who would still be spotted at their games years later — he attended a 1-1 draw with Mirassol as recently as July 26 — listened.
Lyon closed a £17.1m deal. When he put pen to paper on a long-term contract, the Brazil U23 midfielder didn’t bother hiding his frustration with the club he had once expected to join.
“Nobody called me,” he said of Atletico.
The Spaniards had led the race. They walked away. They would not be the last big club to regret it.
Two years later, the next major twist in his journey unfolded back on Brazilian soil. Guimaraes underwent his Newcastle medical while away with the national team, a sign of how far his status had risen. Again, Arsenal lurked. Again, they stepped aside.
Having already invested in Martin Odegaard and Albert Sambi Lokonga the previous summer, Arsenal could not match Newcastle’s financial power. The Saudi-backed project moved decisively. The Gunners hesitated.
A few months on, the bill landed. Guimaraes scored and ran the show as Newcastle beat Arsenal 2-0 at St James’ Park, a result that shattered Mikel Arteta’s hopes of Champions League qualification with one game to spare. The Brazilian didn’t just hurt them; he enjoyed it.
Since that night, he has repeatedly gone toe-to-toe with Arsenal, relishing the scrap, needling their midfield, dragging Newcastle forward. No Premier League opponent has felt his presence quite like the club he has now joined. He has won 71 duels against Arsenal, more than against any other side in the division.
None of this is accidental. Guimaraes has built a career on choosing only the places where he feels truly wanted. That conviction was forged on the streets and courts of Rio de Janeiro, in the sting of early rejection.
He adored futsal, but Fluminense said no. Botafogo said no. So his father, Dick, took matters into his own hands. Every weekend, he would drive 269 miles from Rio to Osasco to watch his son play for Audax in Sao Paulo. Same route, same car, the family taxi that paid the bills and carried a dream.
The sacrifices came with a lesson. If young Bruno lost, Dick handed him a simple ham and cheese sandwich and a juice. If he won, he could eat whatever he wanted. Reward, consequence, standards. Those journeys, those snacks, those quiet drives home, are etched into Guimaraes’ story — and onto his skin.
The number that defined those years, 39, was the number of his dad’s Rio taxi. It became his number, his identity. He wore it with pride. Now he is poised to wear it again at Arsenal.
Inside the club, the path has already been cleared. Louie Copley, a promising academy midfielder who suffered a serious knee injury against Real Betis in midweek, had been training and playing in the No.39. On the club’s website, he is now listed as No.38. A small administrative change, but one that opens the door for Guimaraes to reclaim the digits that mean everything to him.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have had to live with their own numbers. Two near-misses in the Guimaraes chase. Two times they stood back and watched someone else make the decisive move. Two times they paid for it on the pitch.
Arteta was not about to let it happen again. This summer, negotiations dragged. The saga frayed nerves and patience. Yet beneath the noise, one truth remained: Arsenal had finally decided they wanted him as much as he has always needed to feel wanted.
This time, there was no dithering from North London. A £75m commitment, a central role in a title-chasing project, the shirt number that connects him to home. The third act in a long-running pursuit ends very differently from the first two.
Bruno Guimaraes is an Arsenal player now. The club that once watched him from afar must live with him at the heart of their midfield — and the Premier League has already seen what happens when he feels he’s exactly where he belongs.
