‘Playing out of his skin’: BBC pundit lauds PL star Arsenal were ‘too slow’ to sign

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Arsenal won’t have many regrets in 2022.

Despite missing out on Champions League qualification last season by a mere point, it’s shaping up to be an excellent year for the Gunners.

They got Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang off the wage bill in January and replaced him with a world-class player in the form of Gabriel Jesus this past summer.

And now, Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal are top of the Premier League table after nine games played.

It’s going to be a very good 2022 for the North Londoners, but one regret they may have will focus around Bruno Guimaraes.

The Emirates Stadium outfit were linked to signing the former Lyon midfielder earlier this year but The Daily Mail reported in May that they were too slow when it came to pulling the trigger, allowing Newcastle United to take advantage.

And the Brazil international has proven himself a stunning capture by the Magpies and scored twice this past Saturday in a 5-1 victory over Brentford – a performance that Garth Crooks has described as Guimaraes ‘playing out of his skin’ in.

He told BBC Sport: “Bruno Guimaraes is playing out of his skin for Newcastle.

“The Brazilian’s performance in the 5-1 thrashing of the Bees was quite outstanding. He intercepted the ball from the halfway line for his second goal, dribbled to the edge of the Brentford penalty box and struck a lovely shot past David Raya.”

It’s worth pointing out that Arteta will be absolutely delighted with the quality of his midfield right now, with Granit Xhaka, Thomas Partey and Martin Odegaard all playing major roles in why Arsenal are top of the Premier League standings.

But there’s no doubt that Guimaraes would’ve improved this squad again and he’s going to remind Arteta and Edu quite regularly what they could’ve had.