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Newcastle all but confirm Bruno Guimaraes move to Arsenal as Gunners land 'very special player'
Sameer Bhatia | August 8, 2026 1:25 PM CST

Newcastle United executives have made it clear they believe the agreement represents a positive outcome for both clubs.

One of the biggest transfer stories of the summer was effectively brought to a close this week after Arsenal and Newcastle finally entered direct club-to-club discussions and then settled on a fee for the Brazil international.

It is understood the transfer is worth around £75 million and could climb to as much as £80m, which would make Guimaraes Arsenal's third signing of the summer at Emirates Stadium after Illan Meslier and Christos Tzolis.

Although neither club has yet officially announced the transfer, Newcastle chief executive David Hopkinson indicated that Arsenal had initially wanted to pay less for the 28-year-old.

"You're dealing with very sophisticated actors on each side," he said. "That's what negotiation looks like.

"It's a fee that satisfies us. If you want to put a merchandising spin on it, it's the highest fee for a player in that position at that age, and all those things come into play.”

In comments that all but confirmed the move has been completed, Hopkinson also outlined the kind of player Arsenal are about to get.

He added: "Is it a good deal for Newcastle United? I believe it is, but Arsenal are getting a very special player and person.

“It's worked from a financial perspective for both sides."

Bruno Guimaraes is set to complete a move from Newcastle to Arsenal.

Meanwhile, Newcastle sporting director Ross Wilson has said Guimaraes was "very emotional" when informing the club that he wanted to join the Premier League champions. The captain is understood to have said an emotional farewell to team-mates and staff before departing Newcastle's pre-season training camp in Spain.

"What we had to weigh up was, very respectfully from Bruno with his behaviour towards us, very emotionally as well, he effectively told us he wanted to leave and move on," Wilson said.

"That doesn't mean he can go, but it certainly plays a part in what our thinking is when we hit a certain range of number.

"There's no part in saying it was part of our strategy and was in our thinking this summer - it wasn't.

"But we have got to be flexible and react to things that happen."


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