Arteta backs Bruno Guimaraes to help take Arsenal to the 'next level'

Mikel Arteta believes Bruno Guimaraes is a signing that can take Arsenal to 'the next level' this season.

Guimaraes was paraded as an Arsenal player ahead of the club's pre-season friendly defeat to Borussia Dortmund at the Emirates on Sunday.

The 28-year-old has arrived in a £75m deal from Newcastle United, with the midfielder regarded as one of thePremier League's top talents in his position.

Guimaraes twice helped Newcastle to Champions League qualification and captained the Magpies to League Cup success in 2025, ending a 70-year wait for a major domestic trophy.

Arteta said he is delighted to have secured the Brazil international, and has already been impressed by the energy Guimaraes has brought to the training ground.

He backed the midfielder to make a big impact in North London as thePremier League champions prepare for their title defence.

"I'm delighted to have him. Why? Well, we see very clearly, especially the energy that he brought immediately to the training ground, the hunger, the desire to come here and create a big history at the club," Arteta toldarsenal.com.

"And that's the ambition that we need. We want to go to the next level and very, very much convinced that we're going to need players with such a personality, desire and character to push everybody inside the organisation to go even higher.

"On the pitch, versatility to play in two different positions in relation to what the opponent or we do. A player who obviously has tremendous timing and intuition to win the ball back and progress play very, very fast.

"He's a player that is very comfortable putting people through, pulling between the lines, pulling behind. And then he's a goal threat. He's got a smell and a really good timing to get in the box and he has the capacity to finish the actions."