- 13 minutes ago
Arsenal look likely to bring Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes into the club this summer, but what will the Brazilian midfielder bring to Mikel Arteta's side? Archie Corbett takes a look at Bruno's strengths, his suitability for Arsenal's tactical setup, and which of the current Arsenal squad would benefit the most from his arrival.
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00:00All righty everybody and welcome back to the Archie Corbett football channel where maybe,
00:06possibly, potentially even probably, Bruno Gimaraes is joining Arsenal in the not too
00:11distant but also maybe quite distant or not at all future. But for a figure of 60, hang on no
00:18wait,
00:1975, 8, 9, 100 million pounds? Look, take your pick, it looks like Bruno Gimaraes is joining
00:25Arsenal so why? Well we'll be looking at all of that in this video plus which of the current Arsenal
00:31squad would benefit so much from Bruno Gimaraes joining the club so strap yourselves in this is
00:37likely to be an incredibly convoluted and probably quite bumpy ride. So let's start with what makes
00:45Bruno Gimaraes Bruno Gimaraes and why that player in particular is maybe one of the best central
00:51midfield players in all of world football at the minute. Well for starters he's an elite passer in
00:57almost every phase of play from deep areas he's able to progress the ball 20, 30 yards directly
01:03into the forward line. And the key word that describes Bruno Gimaraes' passing is intent.
01:10Every single action he takes on the ball has a purpose to it and even with his unsuccessful passes
01:16like these ones I'm showing you now they come from him trying these ambitious balls through the lines
01:21to try and play an attacking player in. And this is where we come to his final third passing because
01:26from the outside at least I think he sometimes gets a little bit misprofiled as more of a defensive
01:32midfielder who does his work from these deeper areas and moves it out that way. But it's his work
01:37in the final third that really sets him apart from a lot of similar midfielders in world football.
01:43He regularly plays these killer passes between the centre-backs and the full-backs for onrushing
01:48wingers or will combine for quick interplay around the box to create an opening. So he has the
01:54technical passing skills of a number 10 doing his work in and around the box but also the deep
02:00progressive skills of a cultured number 8. So he kind of has everything you want on ball from a
02:07midfielder. And his numbers also back this up. He ranks him a top 10% of midfielders in Europe's top
02:13five leagues and not just the Premier League for deep progressions, for through ball passes and for
02:18progressive passes. And he's also physical in duels as well. He ranks him a 94th percentile for
02:24defensive ground duels 1 per 90 which just trips off the tongue doesn't it. And he's also great as a
02:291v1 defender and his combination of his physicality and his tenacity in these kind of areas is a real
02:35plus point off the ball as well as on it. And lastly he's a goal threat as well. He's got
02:4128 goals across
02:42his last four seasons while being at Newcastle across all competitions. And last season he was
02:48the joint top scorer out of midfielders in the Premier League. And his goal scoring ability is
02:53an interesting one because it does come primarily from his movement around the box. He makes these
02:57sort of late runs into the area where cutbacks end up normally finding him. But also once again
03:04his tenacity, this time on the ball, allows him to pick up any loose balls or any rebounds from
03:09goalkeepers. Oh and he also has the occasional just hit the bloody thing in his locker as well
03:15which is always a bonus. So now we know what Bruno Guimaraes does well. So let's move on to how
03:20he can
03:21help Arsenal specifically because he would improve any team in world football in their midfield. But
03:26how will he improve the Premier League champions to go to that next level and get even better?
03:33Well one of Arsenal's struggles last season on the ball was breaking down a low block. Having that
03:38injection of creativity through the middle and final thirds was something they didn't do particularly
03:43well at on the ball. Now they did normally end up breaking down a low block more often than not
03:48hence they won the league. But it was rarely from open play. It was normally from set pieces which
03:53you've all heard a lot about. Now this is where Bruno Guimaraes can help massively. He was at the heart
03:58of so many big chances for Newcastle from both this middle third and final third. And his ability to
04:05work in these tight spaces or spot a pass into an attacking area will really benefit Mikel Arteta's
04:11side. And again often these passes won't necessarily come off but it's this persistent ambition on the
04:17ball that was often lacking from Arsenal's midfield last season particularly when passing out from deep
04:23and it's actually quite a rare quality in a modern midfielder. Now the next question we should ask is
04:28where will he fit in to Arsenal's best starting eleven? And in truth this question actually feels
04:35a little bit misleading from me because I don't really believe in the idea of best elevens in
04:40football anymore. I think it's a slightly outdated idea because the amount of rotation that teams go
04:45through throughout a season due to the amount of games that are played, the amount that managers now
04:50change their lineups due to the opposition, due to availability, due to the amount of impact that subs
04:55have. I don't really think many teams if any in world football have a definitive best eleven but
05:02look let me know if I'm wrong that might just be me. Anyway enough of the slightly needless dad rant
05:07let's have a little look at actually how he'll fit in to this starting eleven and the natural pairing
05:11would be to put him alongside Declan Rice. That'd be the move to get the best out of both players
05:17and
05:17on paper they'd actually complement each other's skill sets like absurdly well. Like let's just quickly
05:23compare their heat maps from last season. This is Declan Rice's here. It's nice and expansive out into
05:28that left pocket there and it's in the area that Declan Rice likes to play in. Now let's show you
05:34Bruno's heat map. Let's just flip that and yeah he takes up space on the opposite side. So let's pair
05:39them both together like this and sure it's slight pop psychology but in theory they should partner up
05:46really well because they play on corresponding sides in the midfield therefore they should work.
05:51But beyond just both of their heat maps let's take a closer look at the actual numbers. Now this is
05:57Bruno Gimaraes' player radar which if you've not seen them before it essentially maps out all his
06:02numbers from last season on this very neat little graph. And as we can see Bruno is on the higher
06:07end
06:07of the spectrum for all of these passing metrics on the right hand side of the graph but beyond his
06:12ground jewels his actual defensive contributions aren't quite at the same level and his progressive carries
06:18at the top there also drops off. And what's that I hear you say? You'd like to see Declan Rice's
06:24player radar and ideally on the same graph as Bruno's player radar and hopefully it'll match up
06:30nicely and both players will complement each other perfectly and we'll have a lovely little comparison
06:35we can make. All right sure if you want it I'll give you that. And voila here we go carries,
06:42aerial
06:42duels, defensive actions, all areas that Declan Rice absolutely excels in. And if you just keep
06:48looking at it there's not a plot point on this lovely looking little graph that's left wanting
06:53either one of Rice or Bruno or sometimes both, often both, are excelling in each area. But I would be
07:00interested to see who the third member of this midfield would be because as you can see here
07:05I've got it set up where you've got a sole number six as well as two number eight because
07:09that's how Arsenal play. And neither Bruno or Declan Rice by trade at least excel in that number
07:16six role. So where does that leave the rest of the midfielders? Well what you could do is essentially
07:21have two six slash eights and then have a more traditional number 10 in one of Martin Odegaard
07:26or a Berriese. That would be the natural pick to play in that role. But then in a game that's
07:32slightly more expansive Arsenal may well need to suffer a little bit off the ball and therefore you would
07:37go back to having those two eights with a more traditional number six in one of probably Martin
07:42Zubomendi or maybe even Myles Lewis-Skelly. Because again while they can both do it, Bruno and Declan
07:48Rice I'm talking about now, they both can play that number six role. It's not the area that gets the
07:53best
07:53out of either player if they were to play as a solo pivot. So honestly we could well see the
07:58latter of
07:58those two midfield options being used a little bit more this season. That allows both Rice and Bruno
08:04to advance into these attacking areas and do their damage in the final third of the pitch, but also
08:09on their corresponding sides like I showed you. But again, and I think it's especially poignant for
08:14Arsenal, I don't really think there is a best 11 going into next season. I think injury permitting
08:19both of these lads, in fact all of those midfielders, will likely play in and around 40 games next season.
08:26So I'm sure they'll just be happy to rotate in and out of these three midfield positions depending on the
08:31opposition and depending on availability. And the final question of this video, as promised,
08:36is which of the current Arsenal squad will Bruno Guimaraes get the best out? Which of this current
08:42crop of players should be frothing at the mouth at the idea of Bruno joining their team and maybe making
08:48them a bit of a better player? And in truth, everybody, everyone in this team will benefit from
08:55Bruno joining. It's a world-class player joining a world-class team with the hope of winning lots of lovely
09:00trophies. Hooray! But I have narrowed it down to three specific players, so let me show you who
09:06they are. Well, first up we've got, and it won't be a surprise to hear this, Declan Rice. He covers
09:11for Declan Rice's one main limitation. Like we said, his passing isn't the most expansive and
09:16well, Bruno just puts a lovely big tick into that box. So Declan Rice shouldn't have to shoulder
09:22too much of the responsibility when playing out from the back, particularly when passing.
09:26And now this is where it gets interesting because the second player I really think will benefit if
09:31Bruno ends up joining is Bakayo Saka. Because one of Bruno's biggest passing strengths is his
09:36sheer range of ball playing. I'm just going to cycle through a compilation of Bruno getting the ball,
09:43barely looking up, before just absolutely rifling the thing a good 50 or 60 yards across the pitch
09:49to an onrushing winger. And because he does this so quickly as well as accurately, it often leaves the
09:54opposition quite disorganised in their defensive shape and they can't get across to double up the
09:59winger. So enter Bakayo Saka, who has suffered slightly as a result of constantly being doubled
10:05or tripled up by an opposition defence. He's so good in these areas still, but he's so much better
10:12when he's able to be 1v1 naturally. So put Bruno in this side with these quick release balls out of
10:17the
10:17back and you're likely to get Bakayo Saka, maybe your best player in more 1v1 scenarios, which can
10:24only be a good thing for Arsenal. So again, another big tick. And the third player who should be thanking
10:30his lucky stars that Bruno G may well be joining Arsenal this summer is Mr. Victor Jokeres. Because
10:38these quick direct balls that Bruno plays aren't exclusively just to the wide players. He quite often
10:43will try and play a quick ball in behind the defence when in transition or simply try and force the
10:48opposition further back by playing this kind of clipped pass over the top of them. Because often
10:53the makeup of Arsenal's midfield would mean that there's not many players that had the intention
10:58of playing these sort of passes over the top. They'd often try and play sideways or drive the ball
11:03forwards themselves. But again, put Bruno Gimaraes in that midfield and you'd imagine with these passes
11:09being played, Victor Jokeres should get a whole host more chances. Oh yeah, and there's also a
11:15certain Brazilian winger who's just come back from the World Cup, who absolutely loves to play alongside
11:21Bruno Gimaraes and lives for those balls in behind where he can attack the defence. Gabriel Martinelli.
11:29Like, he's going to be great for it. Gabriel Martinelli, that's who I, who do you think of? I meant
11:34Gabriel Martinelli, but obviously. But look, the signing's definitely not done yet, but it seems
11:39like it's getting to the point of being a little bit inevitable was the way that the Athletic
11:44described it. So that's why I've done a video on it. It may not happen. The ACFC curse may strike
11:49again
11:49and Bruno Gimaraes will not be an Arsenal player. But if he is, this is what he'll do for you.
11:55He'll give
11:56you so much progression in midfield. He'll be a real attacking threat as well. He'll be a goal threat.
12:02He can also take a mean corner as well. I'm pretty sure he scored directly from one last season. So
12:07he's kind of exactly what Arteta wants in a central midfielder. So you can understand why
12:13Arsenal want to shell out however much money on him. But that's it for this video. Arsenal fans,
12:19let us know your thoughts and feelings down in the comments below, please. Will he help you retain
12:24the Premier League title for the first time since the 1930s or something like that? Will he help you get
12:29that final jewel in the crown of a Champions League title this season? Again, thoughts and feelings down
12:34below. And Newcastle fans, my heart does go out to you. But hey, look, if you're able to bring in
12:40Angelo Stiller as his replacement, I'm sure we do a video on that if it happens, then that'd be an
12:45unbelievable signing. He was linked to Real Madrid not only 12 months ago. So I know you don't really
12:51want to think about the replacement for your potential ex yet, but got a month's of a season
12:55starts. So you might have to start thinking about it. You can subscribe to the Adam Cleary football
13:01channel here. Don't worry. Dad's back soon. He'll be back next week. He's not my actual dad. You can
13:06get me across all the socials where you won't see my actual dad, but you might see more of me
13:11at Arch Corbett. I sometimes post fun things. I normally just do scroll, but you can follow me
13:16on there if you like. And yeah, let us know what you think about this signing. Will it happen? Will
13:20it
13:20not? I'm getting the feeling of inevitability about it, but hey, could be wrong. Vinicius
13:26Jr. probably won't happen. I was kind of waiting for that to come to fruition, but it's not. So
13:30we've jumped the gun on Bruno Guimarães. I'm sure that won't come back to bite us because
13:34it never has before. But yeah, that's all for now. Goodbye, everybody. See you later, ACFCers. We need
13:41a nickname for people that watch ACFC. I need to go as well. So goodbye, everybody, and we'll see you
13:47in the
13:47next one. I tried an outro then. I tried like a little, a little catch. It's dreadful, anyway.
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