Superior defensive ability
What makes Guimaraes famous is his excellent defensive ability. The Brazilian midfielder is a player who plays very decisively and strongly in tackles. Data from the Premier League homepage in the 2025-2026 season shows that Guimaraes has the most successful tackles and winning duels in 90 minutes, more than any other Arsenal midfielder.
Each match, Guimaraes has an average of 5.7 successful face-to-face tackles on the ground, along with 1.6 successful tackles. He is only behind Declan Rice in terms of average successful ball recovery times in a match.
This helps Guimaraes become one of the most impressive defensive midfielders in the Premier League, a quality that can help him affirm his position at Arsenal.
The flexibility in midfield
The new Arsenal midfielder is also capable of playing in many different positions. He started his career at Newcastle playing as a defensive midfielder (number 6), but recently shone in the number 8 position, moving up and down the field in the role of box-to-box midfielder.
Arteta really likes such midfielders. Mikel Merino, Rice and Martin Zubimendi are also capable of playing in the 6th or 8th position, and the addition of a world-class midfielder like Guimaraes ensures that Arsenal coaches have many different tactical options.
In addition, Guimaraes plays more directly than other Arsenal midfielders, showing more readiness in attacking play. This can be very helpful for Arsenal in attacking situations in the center.
Impressive scoring ability
Another special quality of Guimaraes is his impressive scoring and assisting ability, no less than defensive. This midfielder has scored 30 goals, 25 assists in 153 Premier League matches for Newcastle, averaging one goal or one assist every three matches.
Last season, Guimaraes scored 9 goals and had 5 assists for Newcastle in the Premier League, the most in the team. Compared to Arsenal, his number of 14 goals and assists is also only behind striker Gyokeres (15 goals and assists).
Guimaraes brings Arteta the threat of scoring from the defense, something he lacks in the 2025-2026 season. Especially in tense matches, that can make a difference.
Helping Arsenal have more weapons from set pieces
Arsenal is one of the teams that best utilized set pieces last season. Guimaraes' presence can take the club to a new level in this regard. Last season, he earned an average of 2.6 free kicks per game, the 2nd highest number in the Premier League, only after Jack Grealish. This shows that Guimaraes can help Arsenal earn more free kicks in the 2026-2027 season.
In addition, the Brazilian midfielder is also the one who takes very good free kicks. He once scored from a corner kick into Burnley's net. In addition, the Arsenal newcomer also has a very good corner kick efficiency, when 25% of his last season's corner kicks led to shots right from the first touch. This rate is even higher than Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka.
Star quality can take Arsenal to a new level
Guimaraes is a player who fully meets the requirements of coach Arteta and Arsenal's leadership that the team needs a player who can bring the team to a "different level". He is an experienced player in the Premier League, has also just had 4 assists at the World Cup and has leadership qualities. In general, the former Newcastle midfielder is a star and can create miracles for Arsenal in the new season.
