Bruno Guimaraes delivered a composed display on his Arsenal debut, featuring in a 1-1 friendly against Como at the Emirates Stadium.
The £75m signing from Newcastle United was officially announced on Saturday and presented to supporters before Sunday’s friendly with Dortmund.
Fans packed into the Emirates on Wednesday hoping to see the Brazil international, though he had to wait until half-time to come on.
Myles Lewis-Skelly, whose future has drawn attention amid reported interest from Chelsea and Manchester United, opened the scoring in the first half.
Como equalised through a fine strike from Martin Baturina shortly before Guimaraes entered the fray.
Chants of “Bruno” rang around the ground as the new No 39 stepped on, with loud cheers greeting his first touch.
True to his combative, high-energy style, he sprinted back to snuff out a Como counter and then found David Raya, a sequence applauded as if it were a goal.
There were also early hints of an understanding with captain Martin Odegaard.
Mikel Arteta selected an experimental lineup, handing starts to five academy graduates.
Around the hour mark, with Sunday’s Community Shield against Manchester City in mind, Arteta turned to what looked like his strongest available side.
Guimaraes initially played alongside Lewis-Skelly, but after Mikel Merino and Odegaard came on, he dropped into the deepest midfield role.
The game lost some rhythm due to the substitutions and a second-half drinks break, though Kai Havertz, Noni Madueke and Cristhian Mosquera all went close late on.
Guimaraes lifted a clever pass over the top for Havertz to finish, but the offside flag cut short the celebrations.
Those attempted balls in behind—tried more than once—hinted that he can help sharpen Arsenal’s attacking flow as the season begins.
His seamless adaptation on debut underscored why Arsenal invested such a significant fee.
A pre-arranged penalty shootout followed the match, and Guimaraes converted his spot-kick with confidence—useful momentum ahead of Sunday’s first competitive fixture.
Asked afterward if Guimaraes could start against Manchester City, Arteta noted he has had only three training sessions but looked good, adding that the midfielder was keen to play in front of the fans and that there’s already a strong connection suggesting he will undoubtedly improve the team.