Guimaraes signs, then Arsenal lose at home
Bruno Guimaraes completed his £75m move from Newcastle on Saturday and sat in the stands to watch his new team lose 2–3 to Borussia Dortmund in the Emirates Cup the following afternoon (1) (2) (4). He called it "a challenge I need" in his first interview, and it only took one pre-season friendly to show him exactly how much of one this is (4).
The defeat was not a disaster. Pre-season results rarely tell you anything definitive. But the manner of it matters. Dortmund's new signing Kos Karetsas scored a debut screamer, and Arsenal spent large stretches of the second half chasing the game despite fielding a strong starting eleven: Kepa, White, Gabriel, Calafiori, Odegaard, Havertz, Gyokeres (1) (3) (11). The midfield Guimaraes is joining looked one step slow against a Dortmund side further along in their preparations.
Nwaneri takes his moment, Tzolis impresses
Ethan Nwaneri scored Arsenal's first goal in the 55th minute after coming on, a sharp finish that reminded everyone why the club rejected a €35m bid for him last summer (5) (14). Christos Tzolis was the standout performer across the 90 minutes, continuing the form that has people inside the club noting his physical conditioning (10). If the Greek keeps this up, the Martinelli questions get louder. Galatasaray have already submitted a bid for the Brazilian, and Arsenal have refused to let him go without a replacement lined up (17). Tzolis is making that conversation uncomfortable for Martinelli regardless.
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The left-wing chase is becoming a saga
Vinicius Junior is off the table. He chose to stay under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid, and that is rejection number five in Arsenal's search for a superstar attacker this summer (16) (24). Kenan Yildiz is now the new priority target, and Juventus will demand well north of €100m (8) (12). Bradley Barcola's camp has been contacted, and Pio Esposito of Inter is being scouted at around €85m (10) (11) (23). The list of names is not the problem. The pattern is: Arsenal identify a marquee left-winger, pursue aggressively, get rejected, pivot. With 12 days until the Premier League opener against Coventry City, this is cutting it fine.
Guimaraes changes the midfield equation
For all the transfer noise further forward, the midfield is now settled in a way it was not a week ago. Guimaraes slots in alongside Declan Rice, with Martin Odegaard ahead, and suddenly Arteta has a trio built to dominate possession and win duels (3) (4). The player himself framed the move as a step up: "I'm at the point of my life where I need a challenge like this" (13). It is the right signing at the right time. The question now is whether the attack gets the same treatment before the window shuts.
Twelve days to Coventry
The Emirates Cup loss is not the story. The story is a squad still one major attacking piece short with the season opener looming. Coventry at home on Friday, August 21 is not a fixture that should cause anxiety, but Arsenal need a left-winger in the building before that match kicks off. The Guimaraes deal shows the club can close. Now do it again.
