Bruno Guimaraes is returning to the Northeast as a peripheral figure.
The Brazil international eventually forced through his dream move this summer.
Having messed around all summer trying to get Bruno Guimaraes on the cheap, Arsenal eventually had to accept they’d have to pay the required £75m that would see Newcastle United reluctantly accept his departure.
Newcastle United losing their soon to turn 29-years-old captain.
What has Bruno Guimaraes lost though?
Well, the chance to play football for starters.
Bruno Guimaraes is yet to start a competitive match for Arsenal.
Mikel Arteta deciding that a makeshift left-back turned midfielder is a better option.
Bruno Guimaraes going from United captain and first choice on the team sheet, to watching his new team from the bench.
Maybe not what it said in the brochure…
Across the opening five matches of the season, Bruno Guimaraes has been on the pitch for 45 minutes, averaging nine minutes a game.
The last week saw him watching on as Arsenal won 2-1 against Chelsea in the Premier League, Mikel Arteta using all five substitutes and none of them were Bruno Guimaraes. Amongst those brought on instead of and ahead of the Brazil international were World Cup winners Zubimendi and (also a former NUFC star) Merino.
Sometimes played as a forward by Arteta, Merino started in midweek as a midfielder against Napoli in the Champions League to give Lewis-Skelly a rest. Bruno Guimaraes once again overlooked, though he was brought on as a sub late on to help see out a 1-0 victory. Mikel Arteta actually rotated his squad to give four first team choices a rest but the one-time Newcastle United talisman was still not judged high enough up in the pecking order to get a match.
Tonight Bruno Guimaraes is back in the Northeast watching football, set to watch from the bench as Arsenal take on Sunderland in the Premier League.
As he sits on the bench and hears the predictable abuse rain down on him from the Mackems and yet powerless to impact events on the pitch, a penny for the thoughts of Bruno Guimaraes.
Rapidly approaching that 29th birthday in November, I am guessing much of his focus is on the upcoming three week long international break and looking forward to getting the chance to play some football finally this season, a starter for Brazil. Though even that could come under threat if he finds himself continuing to be such a peripheral figure at club level.
It makes you wonder what will be going through his head. Arsenal have won all four matches so far this season (almost entirely) without Bruno Guimaraes, whilst his old club Newcastle United are also unbeaten in all of their (five) matches so far this season.
I don’t in any way think that money was Bruno Guimaraes’ dominant reason for wanting the move, I think it was the chance at this stage in his career to be playing in a team that as things appeared to stand, stood more chance of winning trophies than Newcastle United. I don’t for a second think he was attracted by the thought of moving to a club that appeared to stand more chance of winning trophies AND where he would be watching from the bench that team trying to win said trophies.
Bruno Guimaraes has gone from being a hero and talisman loved by legions of Newcastle United fans, the captain and first name on the team sheet, to now be an anonymous Arsenal reserve hoping for a serious outbreak of injuries that might seem him get some regular football.
If he now had a magic button that would instantly see him back at Newcastle United and Arsenal simply a dream/nightmare that had never happened, do you think Bruno Guimaraes would press it?