Any Arsenal hope of landing Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes just took a major blow.
The Toon are reeling after the shock resignation of manager Eddie Howe, with German boss Matthias Jaissle set to replace the 48-year-old after five years at the helm.
With Arsenal closing in on a deal for Guimaraes, Howe's exit appears to have thrown a spanner in the works – especially given comments made by the former Newcastle boss.
Eddie Howe says Bruno Guimaraes is “committed” to Newcastle, amid Arsenal talks
Yesterday, Newcastle were battered 4-1 in a preseason friendly at Ashton Gate by Championship side Bristol City, with Howe asked after the defeat about whether he'd been granted assurances that his star man would continue at St. James' Park.
“We've spoken numerous times,” he answered, “Assurances? I don't think you can push too hard for those.
“I've said many times we want players who are committed, and Bruno has always been committed. His training performances and his game performances have been outstanding, every time he's worn the shirt, he's played with the fans by his side.
“I'd love to see that continue.”
FourFourTwo understands that Arsenal's talks with Newcastle – conducted via intermediary Kia Joorabchian – are progressing slowly, but Guimaraes has no intention to rock the boat in the way that Alexander Isak did last season following interest from Liverpool.
Howe's comments about the Brazilian's commitment to the club are certainly true, and given his sudden exit resignation – coupled with the departures of Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon – it's more than possible that a move for Guimaraes will be called off to prevent an exodus.
So far, Arsenal have only landed Christos Tzolis in terms of outfield squad players, with Plan Bs for Bruno and international team-mate Vinicius Jr likely to be steep drop-offs in terms of quality.
Newcastle are enduring another difficult summer themselves, 12 months on from a tricky transfer window which Howe led behind the scenes.
The Toon have already been gazumped in the market for the likes of Johan Mazambi and Victor Munoz, after similar issues trying to land players like Marc Guehi, Joao Pedro, James Trafford and Hugo Ekitike in previous windows.
Howe leaves Newcastle with a 48.5 per cent win percentage after 231 games, having won the club's first piece of silverware this century with the Carabao Cup triumph in 2025.
