Following the departures of Anthony Gordon, Sandro Tonali and Eddie Howe’s Newcastle, Bruno Guimaraes has become the latest key figure to leave Tyneside.
The Magpies captain has joined Premier League champions Arsenal for a reported £75 million fee.
Given the contrasting situations between the Gunners and Newcastle, it’s a no-brainer move for Guimaraes.
At St James’, the manager he’s worked under throughout his entire Newcastle career has left. So too have marquee players Tonali and Gordon, just 11 months after Alexander Isak left for Liverpool. And, after finishing 12th last season, there’s no European football on offer either.
On the table, an offer from Arsenal, who reached the Champions League final last year, won the Premier League, and were aiming to bring in the likes of Vinicius Junior to add to an already star-studded squad.
What was Guimaraes supposed to do? Stay at the club that finished 12th and lost 17 Premier League matches in 2025-26? Endure a season without European football? Trust that everything would improve with a 38-year-old manager whose only senior coaching experience has come in Austria and Saudi Arabia?
You can’t blame the Brazilian for wanting out, but this move could well be the final nail in the coffin for Newcastle’s hopes of returning to the Premier League’s elite.
Newcastle’s turbulent season
Last season, Newcastle had just one win after their first six Premier League matches. That lone win was against Wolves, who were relegated to the Championship by the end of the campaign.
It was a sign of things to come, and although they strung together some positive results, it was a largely inconsistent season from Howe’s side.
Post-match discussions were dominated by the manager’s future after every negative result; in fact, Howe spent the entire season under the magnifying glass, no matter the score at the weekend.
The real turning point in the season was in March, when Newcastle suffered an embarrassing 8-3 aggregate defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League round of 16.
Few expected Newcastle to come away with a 1-1 draw in the opening leg at St James’, even fewer expected the second leg to be tied at 2-2 (3-3) after 30 minutes.
But a Lamine Yamal spot kick on the stroke of half-time proved to be the start of an onslaught from the Spanish giants.
By full time, the big screen in Camp Nou read Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle. The Magpies were out of the competition having been well and truly battered.
Losing is part of the game, but to lose in such a fashion was nothing short of humiliating.
And the winless run that followed only worsened matters. All of Newcastle’s subsequent four league matches ended in defeat, including a 2-1 loss at home to arch-rivals Sunderland.
Too little, too late
The run didn’t end until May, when William Osula, Dan Burn and Harvey Barnes combined to breeze past Brighton and Hove Albion.
By then, it was unfortunately too little too late for Newcastle. Champions League football was out of the question, and Newcastle suffered their lowest league finish since 2020-21 when Steve Bruce was in charge.
So, no Europe, no established Premier League manager at the helm, and no real replacements for the stars that had bid farewell. As I said – no brainer.
Guimaraes’ departure was only a matter of time, especially as we got deeper into the transfer window and more key figures at Newcastle began to part ways.
What does this mean for Newcastle?
Since his arrival in January 2022, Guimaraes has played 195 matches for Toon. He has missed just 16 league matches since his debut, and Newcastle only won two of those 16.
When he played, Newcastle excelled. They won 52.3% of their games (80) and averaged 1.8 points per match.
Without Guimaraes, Newcastle scored fewer goals, conceded more and looked far less capable of controlling matches. Newcastle’s record without their skipper mirrored that of a relegation candidate, but with him, that’s when we see Newcastle look worthy of Champions League football.
Now his absence won’t just have to be endured on 16 occasions across four-and-a-half years; it will be every single week.
Newcastle’s record without ‘Bruno G’ serves as a scary warning of what’s to come.
Losing Tonali was a significant blow. Losing Guimaraes, their captain and heartbeat, could prove impossible to recover from.
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Written by Isabelle Martin
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