Opinion: Is Andrea Berta about to pull off another masterstroke?

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·12 Juli 2026

Opinion: Is Andrea Berta about to pull off another masterstroke?

Andrea Berta has already earned plenty of praise from Arsenal supporters for his recruitment work, but could the club’s sporting director be laying the foundations for another major signing?

Dan Smith believes the Italian may once again be using his patient approach to gain the upper hand in the transfer market.

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Berta’s recruitment strategy keeps delivering

Possibly one of the best appointments the Kroenke family have made since taking control of Arsenal was bringing Andrea Berta to the club.

The Italian’s transfer strategy appears to be gathering as much information as possible on every player on his shortlist before reviewing everything he has collected and deciding the best course of action.

The Gunners benefited from that approach last summer when our sporting director learned that north London was the preferred destination for the likes of Eberechi Eze and Viktor Gyökeres, helping Arsenal avoid becoming involved in unnecessary bidding wars.

Once the Swedish striker insisted he had a verbal agreement with Sporting CP to be allowed to leave, he was effectively left trying to negotiate the asking price down himself.

Well, Mr Berta could be at it again.

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Could Bruno Guimarães be next?

Newcastle United have repeatedly stressed through local media that they do not want to lose Bruno Guimarães, while reports have suggested there was never any agreement allowing the midfielder to leave if the Magpies failed to qualify for Europe.

That raises an obvious question.

If Newcastle are determined to keep their captain, where has the reported £60-70 million valuation come from?

In a market where players such as Elliot Anderson are reportedly moving for around £115 million and Newcastle are said to be close to receiving almost £100 million for Sandro Tonali, you can understand why they value one of their most influential players so highly.

Yet the reality is we are talking about a 28-year-old with just two years remaining on his contract.

The reports that have not been strongly dismissed on Tyneside suggest Guimarães has made it known that, if he were to leave, Arsenal would be his preferred destination.

It’s believed the Brazilian has enjoyed his time at Newcastle and doesn’t want to damage his relationship with the supporters. Yet that could be exactly what Arsenal’s recruitment team are relying upon.

Agreeing personal terms means very little if a buying club cannot agree a fee.

Equally, it becomes much harder for a club to insist a player is not for sale if that player makes it clear he wants to move and has no intention of signing a new contract.

Football has always operated in the grey areas.

Years ago it was labelled “tapping up”. Today, it feels as though clubs have simply become better at working within the regulations while ensuring conversations still take place behind the scenes.

Mr Berta is regarded as one of the best in the business at navigating that process.

Is he about to do it again?

Dan Smith

What do you think, Gooners? Could Andrea Berta persuade Bruno Guimarães to become Arsenal’s next marquee signing, or do you believe Newcastle will stand firm this summer? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. _____________________________________________________________________________________________ ADMIN COMMENT

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