Arsenal's new transfer chief plots huge EPL move to shake up Gunners' plans

Andrea Berta is ready to try and bring Bruno Guimaraes to Arsenal this summer as part of a midfield overhaul with two high-profile stars poised to move on.

The Gunners have identified Berta, formerly of Atletico Madrid, as their top choice to succeed Edu as sporting director after the Brazilian opted to leave his post earlier in the season.

Berta will be tasked with identifying and signing the players capable of transforming Arsenal from title contenders into champions. And while the suggestion has been that the club will prioritise signing a new striker in the transfer window, it seems other plans are also afoot.

It emerged back in January that Martin Zubimendi is being lined up to join Arsenal - but he could yet be joined by Guimaraes.

As first revealed by AS, Berta is a long-term admirer of Guimaraes and has tried to sign the Newcastle midfielder three times before. And with Jorginho and Thomas Partey both out of contract and set to leave, he will make another play for the Brazilian.

Guimaraes is known to be happy at Newcastle, where he has become a fan favourite over the last two-and-a-half years. It's said that he would be open to a change of scenery, however.

The report also claims that the player and Newcastle have an agreement that he can leave in the summer for a fee of £60million if the Magpies fail to qualify for the Champions League.

If Arsenal were to sign both Guimaraes and Zubimendi in the summer then Mikel Arteta would have a wealth of options to choose from in the engine room with Martin Odegaard, Declan Rice and Mikel Merino all currently on the books. Myles Lewis-Skelley is also expected to be utilised as a midfielder long-term despite impressing at full-back.

Arsenal are also interested in Guimaraes' team-mate, Alexander Isak, as they target a prolific No.9 to boost their title hopes.

Despite Berta's admiration for Guimaraes, it's said that Arsenal would prioritise a move for the Swede if he were to become available. Newcastle, though, have made it clear they do not want to sell their top assets and are planning to hold contract talks with Isak at the end of the season.