Bruno Guimaraes brings a shooting threat that some of his Arsenal teammates lack, according to former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino. The summer signing from Newcastle has already made an impact for the Gunners, scoring a brilliant opener against Sunderland last month and netting the winner in a 2-1 victory over Leeds at the Emirates on Saturday.
James Justin had given the Yorkshire side a shock lead in north London, but Riccardo Calafiori equalised before Guimaraes fired in a winner from just outside the penalty box after coming off the bench. It wasn't as eye-catching a strike as his one against Sunderland, which was a memorable effort from further out, but his goal on Saturday again showed his willingness to pull the trigger from range.
Cascarino highlights Arsenal's 'weird' trait
Cascarino felt it was a 'weird' trait of Arsenal's play against Leeds as the other Arsenal midfielders seemed very wary of shooting from outside the box and the Brazilian showed what could be done from there.
'He didn't start yesterday because of being on international duty with Brazil and he went to many different countries,' Cascarino said on talkSPORT. 'Guimaraes is going to play a lot of football, that's clear, but it wasn't going to be yesterday, he felt he had to hold him back.
'He's got a couple of goals from outside the box. By the way, the amount of times Arsenal got outside the 18-yard box and didn't shoot yesterday! They were passing the buck all the time. Declan Rice would have it, [Myles] Lewis-Skelly would have it, [Martin] Odegaard would have it and they never took the opportunity to shoot. It was really weird because they were in some great positions and didn't do it.
Guimaraes's confidence and impact
'Guimaraes will do that, he'll shoot from the edge of the box. If it comes to him, he'll do that. He's got a swagger about him, he's got a confidence, he's a guy who really believes. He's also tenacious so he inspires and lifts other people around him, that's what he does.'
Mikel Arteta was handing out some tough love for Guimaraes despite the impressive impact over the last 30 minutes, pointing out that he wasn't as good in the 3-0 loss to Brighton in the previous outing.
'But he wasn't at that level against Brighton,' Arteta said of the £75 million signing. 'This is the level for Arsenal. Every week, every game, every minute, every action, you have to be at that level. At Brighton he wasn't, today was much better. He can still be much better than the games he has done.
'That's what we have to demand. This is what I demand of myself. I'm going to demand the same of the players, because if we do that it will raise the standards and we will be a better team.'
Guimaraes eager to respond after Brighton defeat
Guimaraes was desperate to put things right after the surprising 3-0 defeat to Brighton before the international break.
'I couldn't wait to go to the pitch today, and I was very anxious on the bench,' he said. 'So, getting in the game, scoring an important goal and getting the three points is always a very good feeling. I would say it was a very special day for me.
'After the last game against Brighton we know that we should do much better, and today, I think it was a great answer even if I believe we can do much more. But the three points was very good for us. We know how tight the Premier League is, so we're very happy with the win.'
