Bruno Guimaraes has admitted he had many sleepless nights and plenty of tears as he decided to leave Newcastle United for Arsenal over the summer.
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Newcastle United star midfielder and club captain Bruno Guimaraes decided to move on and join Arsenal over the summer, having spent four-and-a-half years with Newcastle making 195 appearances.
Newcastle were clearly keen to keep him, with the fans also devastated to lose their captain. Club director Ross Wilson even admitted that Guimaraes’ exit was the one transfer they hadn’t planned for at the start of the summer.
But it seems the player himself had similar reservations about leaving, telling the media this week that it wasn’t easy to say goodbye, even if he believed it was the right time.
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“It was not just hard to tell Eddie [Howe] but to tell the owners and my teammates [about deciding to leave Newcastle],” Guimaraes admitted. “But I think the club went to a new rotation; a lot of players left, as well. The gaffer left.
“It was tough because my connection with the club was unbelievable. I never felt so loved like the way I was at Newcastle. I hope I can have the same love here at Arsenal.
“It was hard for me to say bye. I remember when I said bye to the lads, I was crying. They were crying as well because we were a family there. I lost many, many nights of sleep because it was difficult for me, for my family.
“But sometimes in your life you have to make decisions and in my mind, I needed a new challenge. I wish Newcastle all the best because they were so nice to me. It is just time to move on and I’ve been enjoying my time here at Arsenal, as well.”
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Even just a couple of months into Guimaraes’ Arsenal spell, it’s not hard to see why he made the move.
The midfielder has already won the Community Shield, helped Arsenal win six of seven Premier League fixtures to be in the early stages of another title race, reach the League Cup fourth round, and win two of three Champions League fixtures, drawing away to Bayern Munich.
By contrast, Newcastle have no European football and sit 11th in the Premier League table, with their two League Cup wins the only real positive for their season so far.
Given Guimaraes already won the League Cup with Newcastle, reaching the fourth round doesn’t provide a particularly compelling case for why he should have stayed in the North East. It was time for him to make a step up.
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