Bruno Guimaraes was presented to Arsenal supporters on Sunday before watching his new club beaten 3-2 by Borussia Dortmund in their first home match of the summer, with the Brazilian walking out onto the Emirates pitch to a big reception ahead of kick-off.
The midfielder, who joined from Newcastle for £75m, played no part in the Emirates Cup fixture itself. He watched from the sidelines as the match unfolded, then took part in a post-match session on the grass alongside squad members including Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira — footage of which was posted on TikTok — as Arsenal put some players through a light fitness workout after the game.
Guimaraes had begun working with the group at London Colney at the end of last week. An extended break following Brazil's exit from the World Cup left him with limited pre-season preparation, and the decision was taken that he was not ready to feature against Dortmund. Arsenal are expected to include him in the squad for the pre-season fixture against Como on Wednesday night in north London, though any minutes are likely to be limited as the club manage his fitness.
When Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres joined up late after the World Cup and then made their first appearances of pre-season, they played only 30 minutes. With Martin Zubimendi, Declan Rice, Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino only this week rejoining the squad after three weeks off, Guimaraes could start the Community Shield against Manchester City on Sunday and the Premier League opener against Coventry five days later.
Manager Mikel Arteta spoke at length about the new signing after the Dortmund defeat. "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 said. "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."
Arteta went on to describe Guimaraes as a player with the versatility to fill two different positions, the timing and instinct to recover possession and move play forward at speed, the capacity to find team-mates through tight spaces or drive beyond defensive lines, and a genuine threat when arriving in the box.
On Guimaraes having described himself as a warrior, Arteta was characteristically direct: "Well, I think he's proved that. I think not many people would question associating him with that word. So we know what he's going to bring to the club."
Personality has long been a defining thread of Guimaraes' career. He spent four and a half years at Newcastle, captaining the side and lifting the Carabao Cup in 2025 — the club's first piece of major domestic silverware in 70 years — having stated on arrival his determination to write his name into the club's history. He described it as the best day of his life when, as skipper, he held the trophy aloft.
Reporting: Football.London, Evening Standard, The Athletic.