Bruno Guimaraes is unlikely to make his Arsenal debut in the Emirates Cup clash against Borussia Dortmund, with his transfer yet to be announced. The Gunners agreed a deal for the Brazil midfielder earlier this week worth around £75million that could rise as high as £80m, to finally bring the summer saga to a close.
Transfer status and fitness
It was expected that Arsenal would announce Guimaraes as their third summer signing - after Illan Meslier and Christos Tzolis - on Friday with the 28-year-old said to have travelled back to the UK from Spain to undergo a medical. However, as there is yet to be official confirmation over the move, the best-case scenario, at the time of writing, is the midfielder is presented to supporters before kick-off at the Emirates Stadium.
In any case, Guimaraes is still short of fitness after joining up with the Newcastle squad on Monday for their training camp in Spain as he was given a mandatory three-week break following his involvement for Brazil at the World Cup.
Team news and predicted lineup
Arsenal, though, are boosted by the return of captain Martin Odegaard after his post-World Cup holiday. With Mikel Arteta opting to slowly ease his World Cup stars back into action, Odegaard could get the same treatment as Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel by playing 30 minutes in his first Gunners appearance of the summer.
Ethan Nwaneri should get another chance to impress in midfield alongside Havertz and Myles Lewis-Skelly, as the Gunners boss sticks largely with the same side that were well-beaten by Real Betis in midweek. This is mainly down to the fact that Arteta does not have much room to rotate in defence as Jurrien Timber remains a doubt and William Saliba sidelined with a long-term back injury.
Gabriel is set to start, partnering Cristhian Mosquera as the Arsenal manager gets a first look at the defensive pairing that is likely to begin the season against Coventry in less than two weeks.
Unavailable players and match details
Declan Rice, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, Martin Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino and David Raya are due back imminently from their World Cup breaks, but will not feature against Dortmund.
Predicted Arsenal XI: Kepa; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Lewis-Skelly, Nwaneri, Havertz; Dowman, Gyokeres, Tzolis.
Injured: Saliba. Doubts: Timber. Unavailable: Saka, Rice, Eze, Raya, Zubimendi, Merino, Madueke.
Time and date: 2pm BST on Sunday, August 9, 2026. How to watch: Arsenal app. Venue: Emirates Stadium.
