Nigel Winterburn has called on Bruno Guimaraes to remain ‘patient’ and believes the midfielder must ‘learn the Arsenal way’ before establishing himself as an undroppable component of Mikel Arteta’s starting XI.
Arsenal signed Guimaraes for a fee of £75million from Newcastle in the summer transfer window, with Arteta keen to add another dimension to his title-winning midfield ahead of the 2026/27 campaign.
The 28-year-old captained the Magpies to their first domestic trophy in 70 years when he held the Carabao Cup aloft last year and is widely regarded to be among the most complete central midfielders in Premier League football.
However, all but one of Guimaraes’ four top-flight appearances this season have come from the substitutes bench, with Myles Lewis-Skelly enjoying an outstanding start to the new campaign alongside Declan Rice in Arteta’s engine room.
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Guimaraes’ only start thus far came in the Gunners’ shock 3-0 defeat away to Brighton, where the Brazilian was found wanting for the most part before being hauled off for Mikel Merino on the hour-mark.
He roared back in emphatic fashion in Arsenal’s return to action against Leeds after the international break, though, coming on in place of Lewis-Skelly to score the winning goal in a dramatic fightback at the Emirates.
There was a feeling of deja vu as Guimaraes’ strike hit the back of the net given a month earlier it was his effort that had broken Sunderland’s resistance in a nervy 2-0 victory at the Stadium of Light.
Asked what Guimaraes must do to cement his spot in Arteta’s XI following his day to forget on the south coast, club legend Winterburn exclusively told Metro courtesy of Players Time: ‘Learn the Arsenal way.
‘I think he has a brilliant temperament. He’s used to playing, but he came on against Sunderland and scored, then came on again and scored, changing the momentum alongside Arteta’s other substitutions.
‘It’s about patience and understanding what’s required of him, while the other players learn how he plays and make sure the team doesn’t leave as much space.’
Winterburn is confident Guimaraes simply had a ‘bad day’ at the office versus the Seagulls and argues the same can be said for much of Arteta’s team that afternoon on the south coast.
‘I’d call the Brighton match a bad day, but Brighton were excellent with and without the ball, particularly in their pressing,’ Winterburn, a three-time English champion with Arsenal, added.
‘They won all the battles. I don’t think you can single out one Arsenal player. None of them came out of that game with many positives.
‘With Bruno, it’s a case of waiting and continuing to work with him. You can see his quality on the ball.’
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One player who has been a near ever-present fixture in Arteta’s starting XI this term has been Riccardo Calafiori, with the left-back starting all six of the champions’ opening Premier League contests.
Having played an instrumental role across Arsenal’s title-winning campaign, Calafiori appears to have taken his game to a new level this season, especially from an attacking perspective.
The Italian doubled his goalscoring tally for the season across all competitions with the Gunners’ equaliser against Leeds at the weekend – and Winterburn isn’t ‘surprised’ to see the full-back firing on all cylinders again.
‘I think he offers more going forward than defensively, if I’m honest, but he’s still a good defender,’ the ex-Arsenal full-back replied when asked if there was now a case for Calafiori being the best left-back in the division.
‘Arteta called him a “free spirit”, didn’t he? I wish I’d been allowed to play like that when I was playing.
‘When Arsenal have the ball, Calafiori moves into positions you wouldn’t expect a left-back or right-back to occupy. He’s quality on the ball and puts himself in goalscoring positions.
‘He was playing like that at the start of last season, too, so it doesn’t surprise me that we’re talking about him again.’
The gung-ho attitude of many full-backs in the modern game makes Winterburn wonder whether he or Lee Dixon would have been suited to the present-day Arsenal.
‘Modern football is more possession-based, so it makes sense to have someone who is comfortable on the ball and can move into different areas,’ the former England international explained.
‘It raises an interesting question: would Lee Dixon or I have been the right type of player for Arsenal now? Equally, would some of today’s full-backs have made it into the top teams when we played, when defending came first?
‘That’s the debate around Trent Alexander-Arnold. People say he isn’t great defensively, but he might give you seven or eight goals a season and perhaps ten assists. Teams have to weigh that up.
‘At a top club, you’ll have more possession in most games, but in crucial matches against the biggest sides, you still need to be able to defend.’
Arsenal will hope to carry their momentum from Saturday’s comeback win over Leeds into this evening’s Champions League group-stage tie at home to Ligue 1 outfit Lille.
Arteta’s men must then switch their focus back to Premier League matters with a trip to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest this weekend.
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