Guardiola thinks incoming Arsenal chief's 'prime £60m target' is 'exceptional'

Pep Guardiola has previously heralded Newcastle United midfielder and reported £60million Arsenal transfer target Bruno Guimaraes as "exceptional".

Now their Premier League title hopes appear to be dashed, the Gunners are looking ahead to bolstering their squad even further. Mikel Arteta's side are already eyeing Real Sociedad's Spanish midfield maestro Martin Zubimendi, having reportedly agreed personal terms with the Euro 2024 winner.

Yet, with the contracts of both Jorginho and Thomas Partey expiring at the end of the season, incoming sporting director Andrea Berta is said to be keen to bring Guimaraes to the Emirates Stadium too. It's claimed there's an agreement with Newcastle that he could leave for £60m if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Should the Brazilian international arrive in north London, it would likely be a source of frustration for Guardiola, as he rates the South American highly. Last year, before City's FA Cup clash against Newcastle, Guardiola said: "He is an exceptional holding midfielder. He is aggressive, with the ball or without the ball.

"At set pieces, he’s aggressive and is a real, complete holding midfielder since being at Lyon and now at a club who want to grow up and up. I’m sure he’s part of the project for the next years. Definitely.”

Three years later, he remains at the heart of the Magpies operation and has earned 28 international caps for Brazil since he joined Newcastle. When asked about his future by Sky Sports last year, the 27-year-old said: "Sometimes the people speak a lot about me, I just think about football.

"I'm happy here, in this club doing my best. I love the way the fans like me so I focus on my football and let the people speak. Sometimes (people speak about me leaving Newcastle). I'm very happy here, enjoy it a lot.

"I never felt so much love for the fans like here. They've been unbelievable for me and my family so I try to play for fans. So I hope I can keep going here for as long as possible."

Berta would certainly get himself on the right side of Arsenal fans if he was able to sign Guimaraes soon after arriving. The Italian, who was formerly of Atletico Madrid, has reached an agreement to replace Arsenal sporting director Edu, who resigned in November.

He has an impressive track record of securing top class players, having masterminded Atletico's signing of Julian Alvarez from Manchester City, as well as bargain buys like Jan Oblak from Benfica for £3.4m and Rodri from Villarreal for £21m.

While many Gunners fans want to focus on signing a striker, their primacy focus is clear as they look set to lose Jorginho and Partey, leaving them with only Declan Rice and summer arrival Mikel Merino as orthodox defensive midfield options.