The Brazilian has been Lyon’s best player since making the move in January following Arsenal’s reported interest.
Bruno Guimaraes has played just three times for Ligue 1 giants Olympique Lyonnais and he has been the standout performer every time.
The 22-year-old Brazilian midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal in January but the Gunners decided against making the move and Lyon were quick to snap him. (Globo Esporte)
In his two games in the French top flight, Guimaraes averages 85 touches, a stunning 92.3% passing accuracy, 4.5 tackles and he wins 60% of his overall duels per 90 minutes. (SofaScore)
His second game in the league was in the Rhone derby against St. Etienne and he was simply brilliant on the night. He had 104 touches of the ball, maintained a 93% passing accuracy, completed three key passes, was successful in eight out of his attempted 10 long passes and won three tackles. (SofaScore)
As impressive as that performance was, his best showing in Lyon’s colours came in the Champions League against Italian giants Juventus.
It is never easy to be the best player on the pitch when sharing it with the likes of Paulo Dybala and Cristiano Ronaldo but that is what Guimaraes did.
In his first ever Champions League game, he averaged a 96% pass accuracy (opp. half), won 87.5% duels contested, maintained 86% pass accuracy, had 68 touches of the ball, completed 6 recoveries, made 4 interceptions, 3 tackles, had 2 take-ons and 1 shot on target in a fantastic display against the Italian champions. (Squawka)
Arsenal aren’t necessarily short of quality in central midfield at the moment, but missing out on a player of Bruno Guimaraes’s quality would certainly have hurt.
If Dani Ceballos returns to Real Madrid in the summer, missing out on the Brazilian will look like a huge blunder, and Arsenal might have to pay well over the £17.4 million that Lyon forked out for Guimaraes’s services in January (Marca) to find a good enough replacement.
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