Bruno Guimaraes is the one that really stings.
We have to get used to it though.
The world of football has changed enormously since we had players like Alan Shearer and Rob Lee willing to put a decade of their careers into a team that weren’t always battling at the top.
Bruno Guimaraes has misjudged the situation though.
Although he’s not doing an Isak and despite him not publicly announcing he wants to leave, he has told Newcastle he wants to go to Arsenal and he’s hired a super agent to make it happen. Both of these things have essentially been the equivalent of him going on Instagram and posting a picture of himself in an Arsenal shirt with the caption COME GET ME.
He has apparently said he didn’t want to do anything that would affect his Newcastle United legacy, but for many, this will have tarnished it. Personally, he’s still a huge part of the Newcastle story and I think he should be considered a legend.
We don’t know what’s happening behind the scenes but I doubt Arsenal would pay him that much more than we’d be willing to. He’s going to be one of five top midfielders battling for three positions in the team, will they really be paying him £300k+ a week? They may do but I’d be surprised. If it’s closer to £200k, I think we could have made that exception for our captain. I could be completely wrong on the numbers but let’s assume I’m not.
If it is down to wanting to win trophies then I think Bruno has really made a silly decision joining the Gooners.
Arsenal have won precisely the same number of major trophies as Newcastle United, since the takeover. Sure, theirs is more prestigious and as reigning champions (and the only top six club to have a long-established manager) they look most likely to win the league or another trophy next season. However, there is no guarantee of that.
Bruno may be there for three or four years and only pick up one or two more trophies. He won’t be the heartbeat of the team and in 20 or 30 years it’s doubtful Arsenal fans will still speak about him.
If he’d stayed with us until the time was right for him to go, he would have been an undoubted legend. Especially if he’d led us to another trophy. My kids and other fans of their generation would be telling their kids about him the same way I talk about Shearer, Lee, Speed etc. Will they do so if he leaves now? I’m not sure.
We shouldn’t be surprised though. Remember when he signed his new contract, he had a £100m release clause put in it. It had an expiry date and nobody triggered it but it wouldn’t have been there if he hadn’t requested it. He could have been gone before he’d even led us to a trophy.
All that considered, Bruno Guimaraes has been a massive part of an amazing four and a half years, and I don’t begrudge him going for one last big move. I do begrudge that move being Arsenal though.