Three weeks ago, Arsenal fans were calling for Bruno Guimaraes to be dropped.
After a game-winning cameo against Sunderland, the Brazilian was given his first Premier League start for Arsenal against Brighton. He struggled at the Amex Stadium, though, losing the ball nine times and was the first player substituted on the day.
That prompted Mikel Arteta to restore Myles Lewis-Skelly to the starting XI for today’s game against Leeds, sending a message to his £75million signing. Questions were being asked about whether he was actually an upgrade on what Arsenal already had. Today, those same fans are singing a very different tune.
Arsenal were 1-0 down with just over 25 minutes to play when Bruno Guimaraes came off the bench. Leeds had been excellent. They were organised, physical and dangerous on the break, and James Justin’s strike gave them a deserved lead.
Arsenal had been flat and the Emirates crowd were nervous. But when Guimaraes came on, everything changed.
Riccardo Calafiori levelled shortly after, rediscovering his goalscoring touch from close range, and from that moment Arsenal looked a different team entirely. Guimaraes was at the heart of it. He was demanding more, driving the tempo, quickening the passing and injecting the urgency the game had been missing.
When Declan Rice slipped a brilliant backheel into his path on the edge of the box, he wasted no time picking out the bottom-left corner with a precise, composed finish beyond James Trafford.
Arsenal fans were quick to recognise what they had just witnessed. “Bruno G really has that ‘IT factor’. Not only demanded the change in intensity of our football, HE changed it himself. Real leader,” wrote one fan.
“The Bruno G signing is an easy 10+ points,” said another, while a third arguably put it best: “Can’t quantify impact like that from Bruno G. Personality always shows on the pitch.”
That’s two match-changing cameos from the bench now for Guimaraes, earning Arsenal two wins in two really difficult games that could’ve been a totally different result on another day.
The Brighton display was a blip. The real Bruno Guimaraes is undeniable.