^ ^ Eddie Howe sends final message to Arsenal over Bruno Guimaraes transfer

Arsenal are pushing to sign Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle (NurPhoto via Getty)

Eddie Howe privately believes that Newcastle United will sell Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal before the end of the summer transfer window, according to reports.

Howe has left Newcastle just 24 days before their Premier League season opener against Liverpool on August 23.

Newcastle are now in advanced talks to replace Howe with Matthias Jaissle, who is the head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli.

According to The Telegraph, Howe has become ‘exasperated’ by Newcastle’s decision to sell Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon this summer.

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Tonali joined Tottenham in a deal worth up to £100 million, while Gordon made his £69.3m switch to Barcelona before the World Cup.

The report adds that Howe feels that Newcastle will also sell club captain Guimaraes to Arsenal, who have already had offers of £55 million and £70m rejected for the Brazil international.

Eddie Howe believes Newcastle will eventually sell Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal (Getty)

In what turned out to be his final interview as Newcastle manager on Wednesday evening after his side were beaten 4-1 by Bristol City in their pre-season friendly, Howe admitted he could not guarantee that Guimaraes would stay at St James’ Park.

‘Assurances… I don’t think you can push too hard for those. I think I’ve said many times you want players that are committed,’ Howe said.

‘Bruno’s always been committed here. His training performances, his game performances, have been outstanding. Every time he’s worn the shirt, he’s played with the fans by his side. I’d love to see that continue.

‘I think we want to keep all of our best players. They’re so valuable, and as I said numerous times, there aren’t many of them, and to get them and develop them is so difficult.

Newcastle United transfers this summer

Bazoumana Toure has been Newcastle’s marquee signing this summer (Getty)

SIGNED…

Bazoumana Toure from Hoffenheim for £43m
Aladji Bamba from Monaco for £34m
Sean Steur from Ajax for £23m
Ewen Jaouen from Stade Reims for £21m

SOLD…

Sandro Tonali to Tottenham for £100m
Anthony Gordon to Barcelona for £69.3m

‘So when you have them, you want to keep them. And Bruno’s very much in that category, he’s an outstanding player.’

Asked if Guimaraes’ transfer link is creating a negative mood at Newcastle, Howe said: ‘Any distraction, if it’s not healthy, is unhealthy. So, yeah.

‘But we’re not in control of that. And to some degree, I don’t think Bruno’s in control of that either.

‘What will be, will be. We can’t control the forces that are at play here, we’ve just got to make sure that when Bruno comes back, we look after him and he trains well, which I’m sure he will do. And he makes a difference as he always has done.’

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^ ^ Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta delivers Declan Rice fitness update

Declan Rice has keen to make a speedy return for Arsenal’s pre-season (Picture: Getty)

Mikel Arteta has allayed fears over Declan Rice’s fitness and revealed the midfielder is pushing to make his return for Arsenal’s pre-season.

Rice endured a somewhat frustrating World Cup campaign with England after limping out of the side’s group-stage clash with Ghana with heavy strapping on his left calf.

It later emerged that Rice was suffering with a neural issue affecting his hamstring and lower back, which left him bed-bound for three days prior to England’s quarter-final win over Norway.

After being substituted at the halfway stage against Erling Haaland and Co, Rice returned to play 82 minutes of the Three Lions’ semi-final defeat to Argentina.

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It was in England’s bronze-medal victory that Rice appeared to be playing at somewhere near his best again, opening the scoring with a third-minute stunner before seeing out the entirety of the ten-goal thriller.

With attentions quickly shifting to the new Premier League season, there have been some suggestions Rice may require a prolonged break to remove the risk of aggravating any underlying issues.

But speaking to the media on Wednesday, ahead of Arsenal’s upcoming friendly with Girona, Arteta lifted the lid on the positive conversations he had been having with the former West Ham star.

Rice was suffering with a neural issue at this summer’s World Cup (Picture: Getty)

The England midfielder was instrumental in Arsenal’s title success last season (Picture: Getty)

‘We have three different pre-seasons with different groups, but the most important thing is the attitude,’ the Arsenal head coach told reporters.

‘When I speak to Declan Rice, he is already saying, “Ok, if I come this day, then I can play then.”

‘That is much more powerful than the programme. We want to adapt to the context, which is different.’

The former West Ham man is currently away on holiday (Picture: Getty)

Asked to describe the mood in the camp in Italy, Arteta added: ‘First of all, I saw the energy in the bodies, in their eyes, how they look.

‘And then the players, it was incredible – the shape that they have all come back, better than ever. That tells you the direction that we want to seek and the culture that we have set.

‘Then the way they are training, the questions that they ask you, the direction that they want to take. They are all super powerful signs. 

‘It’s great to see everybody again with the same spirit after such a big season. To see everybody coming back in the building with such energy and desire to go again is really touching.’

The Gunners are preparing to take on Girona this weekend (Picture: Getty)

Arteta was keen to reassure fans that he and his squad had a renewed sense of determination and motivation on the back of club’s Premier League title triumph last season.

‘100 per cent. This has to be the start and this has to be the standard. Excellence has to be our standard and this has to drive to attack the future.

‘The way we behave daily with more and more determination and ambition because we’ve shown that we’ve got it. Now we have to show that we belong to this level and we want to increase and take this football club to a different dimension.”

Arsenal kick off their title defence in under a month’s time (Picture: Getty)

The Spaniard added: ‘My ambition is that daily we nail the standards and the requirements on the day to be better the following day. That is the thing that we have to control.

‘And maintaining that ambition, that discipline, that commitment and that positive energy through 11 months.

‘That is the responsibility that we all have. If we all achieve that, we are going to be in a really strong position in May.’

After locking horns with Girona on Saturday, the Gunners continue their busy pre-season schedule with a friendly against Real Betis at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

Arteta’s men then return home to the Emirates for a double-header against Borussia Dortmund and Como, the club’s final two matches in preparation before their Community Shield showdown with Manchester City on August 16.

The north London giants begin their Premier League defence five days later at home to newly promoted Coventry City.

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^ ^ Arsenal make official statement on potential new signings amid Vinicius Junior speculation

Mikel Arteta and Arsenal are back in pre-season training (Picture: Getty)

Arsenal have taken the rare step of confirming they expect to make more signings in a statement on the club’s official website.

Supporters had been hopeful that the status of Premier League champions would increase the lure of playing for Mikel Arteta’s side.

Instead, the Gunners have endured a frustrating start to the summer transfer window and have so far only managed to recruit Greece international winger Christos Tzolis, who is effectively a replacement for Leandro Trossard, and back-up goalkeeper Illan Meslier.

Arsenal were gazumped by Chelsea in the race to sign Morgan Rogers from Aston Villa and have so far been frustrated in their attempts get a deal for Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes over the line.

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Julian Alvarez, meanwhile, remains at Atletico Madrid having stated his preference for a move to Barcelona, while Arsenal, privately, concede they only have a limited chance of persuading Vinicius Junior to swap Madrid for north London.

Despite that relative slow progress, Arsenal took the unprecedented step of updating fans on Wednesday evening with the promise of further additions being imminent.

In an article previewing Saturday’s friendly against Girona, an excerpt read: ‘Two new signings have also joined the group this pre-season – goalkeeper Illan Meslier and forward Christos Tzolis – with more expected to sign before the end of the transfer window.’

Christos Tzolis could make his first Arsenal appearance against Girona (Picture: Getty)

‘A lot is happening,’ Arteta added in an interview with Arsenal.com. ‘We all know about the context of this transfer window.

‘From ownership to the board, the sporting director and myself, we know that we want to take this club to a different level.

‘That is going to require a better squad, better individuals. We have identified where we have opportunities to grow and to improve and to evolve our game and what is going to be needed to achieve that.

‘Hopefully very soon we can start to put things in a very concrete way.’

Real Madrid are not planning to sell Vinicius Junior this summer (Getty)

Asked if the current members of the squad were up for and refreshed enough to begin the challenge of attempting to defend their title, he added: ‘One hundred per cent.

‘This has to be the start and this has to be the standard. Excellence has to be our standard and this has to drive to attack the future.

‘The way we behave daily with more and more determination and ambition because we’ve shown that we’ve got it. 

‘Now we have to show that we belong to this level and we want to increase and take this football club to a different dimension.’

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^ ^ Eddie Howe to leave Newcastle United with replacement already lined up

Eddie Howe has said he has endured a ‘painful’ summer at Newcastle United (PA Wire)

Eddie Howe is set to leave Newcastle United just 24 days before the club’s first Premier League season opener against Liverpool.

According to The Athletic, Newcastle are in advanced talks to replace Howe with Matthias Jaissle, who is the head coach of Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli.

Speaking last week, Howe admitted that he had endured a ‘painful’ summer with both Sandro Tonali and Anthony Gordon leaving Newcastle.

Arsenal are also trying to sign Newcastle captain Bruno Guimaraes, who has informed the club that he wants to join Mikel Arteta’s side.

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‘We don’t want to lose our best players,’ Howe said.

‘That is an obvious statement to make, losing those big two is painful for us and difficult for us.

‘For me it has been another challenging summer so far. We are always trying to do our best for the football club long and short-term and try to get the squad in the best place.’

Newcastle are in advanced talks with Matthias Jaissle (AFP via Getty)

More to follow…

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