Arteta ‘asks’ Arsenal board to begin ‘operation of gigantic proportions’ for Premier League star | OneFootball

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has called on the Gunners board to seal a summer deal to sign Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, according to reports.

After seeming to be nailed on for the Premier League title for much of the season, Arsenal now look like they could throw away their chance of a first title in over 20 years.

The Gunners have lost their last two Premier League matches against Bournemouth and Man City with the Pep Guardiola’s side going top of the Premier League after beating Burnley on Wednesday night.

Arsenal could now end the season trophyless after losing in the Carabao Cup final in March and being knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship side Southampton, although they will face Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals of the Champions League later this month.

Despite the panic amongst the fanbase and calls from some for a change of manager, the Arsenal hierarchy are planning for another summer of transfer activity.

One priority for Arsenal and many other top Premier League clubs is the arrival of a top-class midfielder and now reports in Spain have indicated that Arteta has ‘asked the Arsenal board to make a significant effort to sign’ Newcastle star Guimaraes.

And the Gunners are ‘prepared to make a strong push’ for the Brazil international with Arteta looking for a leader in midfield ahead of next season.

Arsenal know it will be an ‘operation of gigantic proportions’ with the ‘main obstacle to completing the signing is the cost of the operation’.

The report adds:

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However, Arsenal are apparently ready to pull out all the stops to get a deal over the line as the board consider the transfer ‘a strategic investment that could be a turning point for the project’.

For his part, Guimaraes is ‘keen on the possibility of joining Arsenal’ and his stance will be ‘key to the outcome’ of the potential transfer.

Could Manchester United still be lurking for the Arsenal target?

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano revealed in March that the Newcastle midfielder’s agent had held a meeting with Manchester United over a potential summer deal.

Romano said on his YouTube channel: “What I can confirm is, yes a meeting took place in recent weeks between the agents of Bruno Guimaraes and Manchester United. That’s true, a meeting took place and Manchester United maintain a very good relationship with the agency Bruno is represented by.

“It’s normal to have meetings with top agents for top clubs, but to go from that to meeting and arranging over personal terms, meeting to go and sign a player, there’s still a long way to go.

“Bruno Guimaraes is appreciated by Manchester United, yes, but so are other players. There are many, many things to qualify before Manchester United say ‘this is the midfielder we want to get’.

“Meeting, yes, interest, yes, but for Newcastle he’s a crucial player and they will not make life easy for interested clubs.”