Over the course of the World Cup, it was hardly a surprise to see Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice struggling.
He has given blood, sweat and tears over the last year to help the Gunners win the Premier League. Taking England to their first trophy in 60 years, however, was one step too far.
While Rice was not the sole reason for the Three Lions' failure in North America, he certainly wasn't at his best.
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Mikel Arteta ran his midfield general into the ground last season. No outfield player at the club featured for more minutes (4,456). It's a big problem heading into the new campaign.
The big problems facing Arsenal's midfield
Arsenal may well have won their first Premier League title in 22 years just a matter of months ago but they did not do it the easy way. There were several problems.
In attack, there is a sense that the Gunners lacked genuine firepower and it's perhaps what caught them out in their quest to win the Champions League.
They also lacked something in the middle of the park. Rice may well look knackered but for Arsenal, his performance levels never dipped. He had another incredibly strong season for the Gunners.
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That said, questions marks are being raised ahead of the new season. He needs a lengthy rest and it would be a surprise if he was in the starting XI on the opening day against Coventry City.
Rice, however, is not the main problem. Martin Zubimendi was the one who started to become a bigger issuer the longer the campaign played out.
When the Spaniard first signed from Real Sociedad, he looked like a quality addition to the side. He came out of the blocks flying in the early months of the season, notably scoring twice against Nottingham Forest last September.
Yet, with Christian Norgaard not trusted and Mikel Merino missing for half of the season, Rice and Zubimendi were forced to play an extraordinary number of minutes in all competitions. By the end of the term, both of them looked utterly exhausted.
Myles Lewis-Skelly eventually came into the team for the Spaniard and performed admirably, so much so that he started the Champions League final ahead of Zubimendi. However, at the age of just 19, he is still a rookie in that position.
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As a result of the above, investment is required.
How Arteta can fix Arsenal's midfield
To be fair to Arteta, Arsenal's midfield does not need a total upheavel, it just needs something of a revamp, a light sprinkling of a new signing.
The Gunners have looked at whole host of options but have so far been unwilling to pay an inflated fee. This is a summer in which we have seen Elliot Anderson move to Manchester City for £116m and Sandro Tonali head to Tottenham Hotspur for £100m. Arsenal will not be sucked into paying anything similar.
They may, however, have to pay slightly over the odds for Bruno Guimaraes. Prior reports have suggested Newcastle want the same fee as Tonali to sell their skipper but he is approaching the last two years of his deal. He should be gettable at a cheaper price.
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It feels like this saga has been rumbling on for a while now and according to talkSPORT, Arsenal are accelerating talks to sign the Brazilian this week. He has broadly agreed personal terms with the Gunners already but there is so far a disagreement in valuation of the player. Arsenal are happy to pay north of £70m but will not be going too much higher.
In all honesty, Andrea Berta and Co now need to get a move on. They dilly-dallied over a fee for Morgan Rogers and were ultimately gazumped by Chelsea who paid over the odds. They cannot afford to let the same thing happen here.
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After all, Guimaraes is a player who could transform Arsenal's midfield. Aged 28, he is now in his prime years, he's Premier League proven, he's the captain of his club and most importantly, he's a damn good player.
The midfielder ticks so many boxes and if the Gunners are serious about mounting yet another title challenge, they must get this deal done. He's cut from a similar cloth as not just the aforementioned Rice but he's also got a similar vibe to a certain Aaron Ramsey.
Aaron Ramsey at Arsenal
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Like Rice, his leadership is immense and he's a warrior on the field. Only 12 midfielders have received more yellow cards (22) in the English top-flight since 2023. He will always get stuck in, he will always hassle his opponents.
Yet, like Ramsey, he's also a box-crashing midfielder, someone who can ghost into the penalty area and score goals aplenty.
The Welshman became an expert at that during his time at the Emirates, most notably scoring as many as 16 goals and registering nine assists in 34 games in 2013/14. While Guimaraes has not quite hit those heights, he's been providing regular goal contributions for Newcastle for a number of years now.
2025/26 was the Toon skipper's best season in front of goal during his whole career, netting nine in all competitions, six of which came from open play.
He's also a big game player much like Arsenal's former midfielder. Ramsey was always the man for the big occasion, putting three goals past Spurs and scoring in two FA Cup finals.
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Bruno may not have found the net in a cup final but he does have a habit for popping up with vital goals. He scored a 90th minute winner versus Fulham in 2025 and popped up with stoppage time equaliser from the penalty spot in a 4-3 win against Leeds last season. He has also found the net against both Liverpool and Tottenham in years gone by.
A clutch midfielder with leadership aplenty, the ability to score goals and win duels, this is a player Arsenal should be happy to overpay for if it means getting the deal done.
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