The making of Arsenal signing Bruno Guimaraes, a captivating leader who couldn’t tie his shoelaces

A version of this piece was first published in January 2023. It has been updated to reflect the period since then and Arsenal confirming the signing of Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United.

It wasn’t a free kick, nutmeg or rousing tackle that convinced Tiago Nunes that Bruno Guimaraes was destined for the stratosphere.

Nor was it one of the midfielder’s through balls, those trademark offerings to the gods of geometry.

It didn’t even happen on the pitch, in fact.

It was September 2019, half-time in the second leg of the Brazilian cup final. Athletico Paranaense had taken a narrow lead into the game — Guimaraes scored the only goal of the first leg — but were clinging on. Internacional, spurred on by a full house at their Beira-Rio stadium, were in pummelling mode.

“The score was 1-1, but they were dominating,” Nunes, Athletico’s coach at the time, recalled in an interview with The Athletic in 2023. “It was a high-pressure game and we were well below our usual level.”

The atmosphere in the away team’s changing room told its own story. The Athletico players knew that another goal for Internacional would take the final to penalties. They were quiet, their eyes fixed on the floor.

Then Guimaraes piped up.

“If you’re scared to play, give me the ball,” he said. “I’ll play for you. You can trust me. But let me tell you this: we are going to leave this stadium with the trophy.”

Guimaraes was 21, still a pup. Nunes already knew about his tenacity and had marked him as a future leader, but this? This was as unexpected as it was welcome.

“It gave me goosebumps,” Nunes said. “It was an extraordinary thing for a kid of his age. It demonstrated his personality and his ambition.”

Those attributes made Guimaraes a firm favourite at Newcastle during his four and a half years at the club. As he makes the switch to the Premier League champions Arsenal, there is a feeling of dread on Tyneside over what life will be like without him, a player who runs himself into the ground every game and adds much-needed composure, quality and incision to their possession play.

Not just on the pitch, Guimaraes has also endeared himself to Newcastle fans with his attitude, embracing life in the north-east of England and leading by example in his role as captain. His mentality from the start had been that of a winner, stating his determination to write his name into the history of the club. He said it was the “best day of his life” when, as skipper, he lifted the Carabao Cup in 2025 — Newcastle’s first piece of major domestic silverware in 70 years.

“When you demand something of him, he gets better,” said Nunes, and that is not an outlier view among Guimaraes’ former mentors.

Speak to those who knew him as a boy and you get the impression he was wired for big occasions.

But even when things have been tougher at Newcastle, Guimaraes has been the standard-setter, stepping up alongside Joelinton in the dressing room as results slipped under Eddie Howe last season, much like he did for Nunes all those years ago.

The result of that cup final speech? Athletico held on to win.

Guimaraes with the trophy after that 2019 Brazilian cup final (Lucas Uebel/Getty Images)

Guimaraes grew up in Engenho Novo, a modest neighbourhood in the endless northern sprawl of Rio de Janeiro. His father, Dick, drove a taxi; Marcia, his mother, worked in a motorcycle dealership. By Brazilian standards, they were comfortable enough.

He had two bouts of pneumonia as a toddler. The family’s doctor recommended swimming. Good for the lungs. But Guimaraes was already obsessed with football, always out in the street, a ball at his feet. Good for the soul, maybe.

At five, he started playing futsal at local club Helenico. There, he first appeared on the radar of Mario Jorge, a young coach with whom he formed a lasting bond. They were together at under-six, under-nine, under-11 and under-12 levels, and they still speak today.

Fun was the main objective in the early days. The Helenico boys played dodgeball and had shoelace-tying races. “Bruno didn’t know how to do his laces, so he’d get very upset,” Mario Jorge told The Athletic in 2023. “He’d go home and beg his mum to teach him how to do it. He was always really competitive.”

Guimaraes was less keen on playing matches. “He liked those little games, but not the actual football,” said Mario Jorge. “He did not want to take part. Sometimes he’d get so nervous that he felt sick. He’d go to the toilet and tell me that he didn’t want to play. Sometimes he couldn’t even speak; he would just shake his head. That was his signal.”

Eventually, Guimaraes found his confidence. After impressing for Helenico, he was invited to play for Flamengo’s futsal team. At weekends, he’d go for barbecues with Mario Jorge, who roped him into three-on-three neighbourhood games.

“It would be me, Bruno and another boy against three adults,” recalled Mario Jorge. “This was on the street. No shoes, no markings. The ball would hit the curb, hit the wall, and you’d continue. There were no fouls. It really was a street game. And we’d win every time.”

When Mario Jorge was asked to start an under-13s team at a local club called Sendas in 2010 (their name changed to Audax-RJ a few months later), Guimaraes transitioned to 11-a-side football. He had previously had trials with Fluminense and Botafogo, but nothing came of them; this was a chance to show what he could do on grass.

“Physically speaking, he was very skinny and slight,” said Gabriel Barreiro, who assisted Mario Jorge during Guimaraes’ time at Audax-RJ, when speaking to The Athletic in 2023. “He was not extremely technical, either. He was never the standout player at that age.”

Mario Jorge echoed that view, recalling a period when he became worried about Guimaraes’ co-ordination. The kid ran as though his arms and legs were having a four-way argument. “You have no idea how bad it was,” he laughed. “We made him do special exercises to tidy up his movement. Today, it’s a bit better. It’s not a particularly pretty way of running, but he gets by.”

Guimaraes in action for Brazil (Nicolo Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images)

While Guimaraes was neither a study in grace nor an obvious genius-in-waiting, he excelled in the intangibles.

“His commitment stood out,” explained Barreiro. “He had a very strong personality, extremely determined. He always did everything we asked of him in training — and then a bit more.

“Even without the physicality, he would surprise us. He would compensate in other ways. He was a fighter.”

Nor was his drive directed only inward.

“Bruno was always a leader,” said Mario Jorge. “He had the posture, the conduct, the intelligence.

“He was not an imposing leader; it wasn’t that he had a strong personality that he would force on his colleagues. It was more natural — a captivating, sweet form of leadership, through easy smiles and politeness. It was part of his upbringing. I think it came from his family.”

Still, the fan club remained fairly small for the three years Guimaraes spent at Audax-RJ. The scouts from the big clubs didn’t talk about Bruno.

“Bruno was far from being the most in-demand player we worked with,” said Mario Jorge. “Some boys had offers from Botafogo, Flamengo, Vasco da Gama, Bahia, Figueirense, but there was nothing for him.”

A futsal interlude.

Guimaraes, like many Brazilians before him, credits futsal — Brazil’s version of five-a-side, played on squeaky indoor courts using a small ball — with shaping the way he plays today. Which is fine, but a little vague. So we asked his former coaches for a bit more granular detail.

Mario Jorge: “Bruno always used the sole of his foot to control the ball. In 11-a-side, you don’t use that technique a lot, because sometimes the ball is wet and it can be slippery. But he always did that a lot.”

Guimaraes was still controlling balls with the sole of his boot years later for Newcastle (Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images)

Barreiro: “It taught him quick decision-making in small spaces. He likes doing these little dribbles, even as a midfielder. Even when he is under pressure, he knows how to escape. That comes from playing futsal.”

Nunes: “The nutmegs are from futsal. The one he loves is when you control the ball with the sole of your foot and just nudge it. He always did that. It’s also typical of players from Rio. He’s an expressive guy, a joker, and he likes to bring that onto the pitch with him. He likes to mess with his opponent, to get in his head.”

Mario Jorge: “Futsal is responsible for his decision-making and the dynamism he brings to the game. He had to work out a way to escape pressure from boys who were stronger and taller than him. It made him develop an intelligence which is very visible. When I see him playing today for the national team, I still see that nine-year-old on the futsal court. It’s obvious that the action is much quicker, but I used to see him do the same things.”

When Guimaraes left Audax-RJ, it was not for one of the country’s traditional heavy hitters but for Audax-SP — the Sao Paulo branch of the same group of clubs, higher up in the pecking order of Brazilian football but not a household name.

He made his professional debut at 17, then kicked on after the 2017 Copinha youth tournament, playing eight first-team games under Fernando Diniz, an up-and-coming coach who is now in charge of the first team at one of those domestic big guns, Corinthians.

“He’s a very intelligent player,” Diniz said of Guimaraes in an interview with Brazilian TV show Globo Esporte. “He has immense maturity for his age, particularly in high-pressure games. He presses intensely and has the technical ability to dictate the play. He has the soul of a great footballer.”

Supported by his parents, who ferried him back to Rio at the weekends, Guimaraes started to win admirers — from Brazil and further afield. Audax turned down a bid from a Hungarian club before agreeing a deal with Athletico for a year-long loan with an option to buy.

Initially, it looked like a misstep. Between May and November 2017, Guimaraes played only 58 minutes for the Athletico first team. He expected to be sent back to Audax, but in the final match of the season he produced a sparky cameo off the bench against Palmeiras. “He did really well in those final 15 minutes,” said Nunes, who was Athletico’s B-team coach at that stage. “He made a great final impression, which pushed the club to let him stay.”

There was more good fortune to come. Diniz arrived from Audax as first-team coach, for one. Guimaraes then benefited from Athletico’s policy of ‘splitting’ their squad, allowing youth players to play the state championship so the first team could have a proper pre-season.

Guimaraes saw his chance.

“He had this determination,” said Nunes. “He didn’t want to go back to Audax, who only played in regional competitions.”

Athletico won the state championship with what was essentially an under-23 team. Guimaraes, the standout performer, was promoted to the senior squad proper.

The secret was finally out.

“He knew instinctively where he should be to receive the ball. He knew when he was the spare man, when he had to provide support, when he had to make a run. That wasn’t normal for a player of that age,” Nunes said.

“Bruno was never the kind of player who did stepovers or particularly creative things. He wasn’t that explosive player who would pause on the ball and do a dribble. His technical quality was about keeping the ball moving, the right touch at the right time.”

Above all, Nunes loved Guimaraes’ personality. “Bruno is a Carioca, from Rio,” he said. “Cariocas are known for being warm and open. They love to chat and are always smiling. They come with that software installed. Bruno is like that: a very sweet guy with a big heart.

“What really impressed me was the way he reacted to criticism. I was always challenging Bruno, nagging him. When you give Bruno some stick, he doesn’t give it back, doesn’t complain. He gets really pissed off but keeps it inside and uses the anger to improve.”

(Lucas Uebel/Getty Images)

What did Nunes need to pester him about?

“He sometimes wanted to chase his man all over the pitch. That way of thinking about defending as a collective thing didn’t come naturally to him. I didn’t want to take that aggression away from him, but sometimes he just abandoned his zone. Against the better teams, that left us with a weak point.

“I also nagged him about improving his left foot. I used to call him ‘mop foot’ because when he kicked the ball with his left, there was no power behind it. He hated that. He used the criticism as fuel. It was, ‘Watch this then, you son of a b***h, I’ll show you what I can do’. I used to do it quite intentionally. I wanted him to be pissed off.

“Some players go into their shells when you shout at them, and are unable to perform. Bruno was the opposite. He is at his best under pressure. Maybe that’s one of the things that helped him adapt to European football so quickly.”

A geography interlude.

Nunes: “One thing he’s not so good at is geography. I went to Paris with my wife in 2018 and when I got back, I called each one of my players to check in. I called Bruno and he told me he had seen on Instagram that I had been in Paris.

“He said, ‘Yeah, I saw you were in Paris. I’ve always wanted to go to England.’

“I told his team-mates about that later. It became a long-running joke.”

As Guimaraes’ star rose in Brazil, so too did interest levels abroad. Chelsea scouted him. Benfica phoned Nunes to ask for the inside line. So did Arsenal.

“Edu (then Arsenal’s technical director) called me to ask about Bruno,” Nunes recalled in 2023. “He just wanted to get my view about his characteristics, and see whether I thought he would be a good fit for Arsenal. Their philosophy was changing with Mikel Arteta’s arrival (as head coach and now manager) and they wanted players who could keep possession and interpret space — the exact things that Bruno does perfectly.

“I told him, ‘Sign him up, because he’s got huge potential’. But I don’t know whether Arsenal made an offer in the end.”

What Arsenal have seen in the years since has only convinced them that their initial instincts were correct.

Former Brazil midfielder Juninho Pernambucano, sporting director at French club Lyon at the time, called Guimaraes directly and told him he would make the youngster the best central midfielder in the world. Guimaraes believed him and moved to Ligue 1.

At Lyon, he caught the eye with his ability to run games from midfield. Former Lyon head coach Peter Bosz called him the “thermometer” of the team. Hiring his own personal performance analysts suggested he was taking his career incredibly seriously.

One of those analysts is Eduardo Barthem, who has worked closely with Guimaraes for almost five years, alongside Rafael Marques, Hugo Delfino and Marcos Tanaka and Rio de Janeiro-based consultancy Performa Sports. He has been impressed with Guimaraes’ drive to improve, despite his successful career to date. 

“He’s a 28-year-old player who has already played in two World Cups and has become a cult hero at two different clubs,” says Barthem, speaking earlier this week. “He has had every reason to become complacent along the way, but there is ambition to always want more. He is a real winner, very competitive, and he understands that to compete at this level, he needs to be constantly improving.

“He’s always willing to listen to what he needs to improve on and where he needs to build on his strengths, and that mindset is definitely what has brought him this far.”

Guimaraes with Eduardo Barthem, one of the analysts he works with (Eduardo Barthem)

More specifically, Barthem pointed to Guimaraes’ increased shooting rates to illustrate his desire to add new layers to his game.

Guimaraes more than doubled his rate of shots on target per game last season, while he also doubled the number of actions with his left foot, which would be music to Nunes’ ears.

“He showed that response to our conversations in-game, which is helping him to become more complete all the time,” says Barthem.

“Then there are set pieces. That came from him. It was down to Bruno deciding to step up as a potential set-piece taker. We always said that he has an excellent delivery and that he could work on his free kicks and corners, but this was something that he took on himself, and the result has been very positive.”

Though Barthem and his team were thrilled with his time at Newcastle, they cannot hide their excitement at his next move.

“I am so excited, because Arsenal are one of the best teams in the world, the reigning Premier League champions, runners-up in the Champions League. He’ll be competing for every title. But I also think he fits really well into the midfield, and can replicate some successful partnerships he has had throughout his career.

“For example, I see a potential partnership with Declan Rice where they can constantly switch positions, much like he did with Sandro Tonali at Newcastle. Bruno is an elite player in both the No 6 and the N0 8 positions, so I think at certain moments he can play slightly further forward, at other times he can drop to allow Rice some space to move into.”

Barthem also thinks Guimaraes can click with Martin Odegaard, a player who is always making himself available to receive the ball and offering passing lanes, and who likes one-twos, combining in short spaces, much like Lucas Paqueta for the Brazil national team and at Lyon.

“But above all, I’m excited to see how he plays with Bukayo Saka, who is a player who likes to make runs in behind,” says Barthem. “Those through balls, particularly down the right flank, are his greatest strength — you only have to look at his relationship with Vinicius Junior, Raphinha and Gabriel Martinelli with the national team.”

When asked if he has any advice for Guimaraes, Barthem’s answer is simple: more of the same.

“Stay focused and disciplined, and keep that ambition. He is a player who gives 100 per cent to everything he does with his career, and he is addicted to football, to getting better.

“That flame has been lit for the game, and it is vital for him to keep that feeling alive.”

Guimaraes and Martin Odegaard (left) have gone from Premier League rivals to Arsenal midfield colleagues (Michael Regan/Getty Images)

Nunes holds a similar view. His affection for the player is reciprocated, too: Guimaraes once called Nunes his “godfather”.

“It’s a paternal relationship,” said Nunes in 2023. “Not many players give their manager a chance to get close, but some need that, and Bruno was one of them. He’s no longer just someone I coached; he’s a friend. He’s always in my heart.”

Nunes was never in any doubt about Guimaraes’ ability.

“He’s a player who will create a legacy,” he said. “I told him on many occasions that the sky is the limit.”