Arsenal's Summer Transfer Pursuit: Guimaraes or Scott?

Arsenal’s summer plan is starting to look like a high‑stakes game of chicken with Newcastle United.

Mikel Arteta wants Bruno Guimaraes. Badly. Arsenal have already tested the water twice with unofficial offers of £55m and £65m, only to be swatted away by a Newcastle hierarchy who have made their position plain: their captain is not for sale. Not at that price. Maybe not at any price they’ve seen so far.

Newcastle value Guimaraes in the £90m–£100m bracket and have shown no sign of blinking. Arsenal, though, are coming back again. This time with something more serious.

Arsenal ready to go official for Guimaraes

A formal £70m bid is being prepared at the Emirates, a step up in both money and intent. No intermediaries, no verbal feelers. A straight, official offer for one of the Premier League’s most influential midfielders.

The response, if the mood on Tyneside is any guide, will be just as direct.

Fabrizio Romano and The Chronicle’s Lee Ryder both expect Newcastle to reject the bid, and voices inside the club have gone even stronger. Sources spoken to by TEAMtalk described Arsenal’s looming proposal as “not welcome, not wanted and will not be accepted.” That is the tone of a club determined to hold its ground, especially with Guimaraes already central to their project and their ambitions.

Complicating matters further, Guimaraes is understood to have agreed personal terms with Arsenal. The player is ready. The club are not. That tension is driving the whole saga.

If Newcastle stand firm again, Arsenal will have a decision to make. They can keep pushing towards nine figures for Guimaraes, or they can pivot.

They already know where they’d turn.

Alex Scott: the contingency plan

CaughtOffside report that Arsenal have effectively “decided” their Plan B: Alex Scott of Bournemouth. At 22, Scott is seen inside Arsenal as the alternative if the Guimaraes pursuit finally hits a wall.

Guimaraes remains the priority. That has not changed. But Scott is no longer just a name on a longlist. He is the primary back‑up option, the player Arsenal believe can still give Arteta’s midfield a different gear if the marquee target proves unattainable.

That does not mean the deal will be straightforward.

Arsenal have already had one approach for Scott rejected earlier in the summer. Since then, the midfielder has refused to sign a new contract with Bournemouth, a move that would usually signal an opening for buyers. Bournemouth have responded by digging in.

The south‑coast club are adamant Scott will not be sold before what they hope will be a landmark season: their first ever European campaign. They want him at the heart of it, not cashing in before a ball is kicked.

The resolve has already been tested. Chelsea, as revealed by Ben Jacobs, went hard with a £64m bid for Scott. Bournemouth turned it down. Chelsea walked away empty‑handed, and the price of admission for the next suitor went up again.

A market with no bargains

That rejected £64m offer is a warning shot for Arsenal. If they do abandon the Guimaraes chase and swing their attention fully to Scott, they will be entering a negotiation where the baseline has already been set. Bournemouth know a Champions League club have put that kind of money on the table. They also know Arsenal, like Chelsea, are under pressure to reshape their midfield.

So the equation is stark. Fail to land Guimaraes and Arsenal must pay significantly more than £64m for a player whose club say they do not want to sell, and who is central to a historic season on the horizon.

Arsenal have made their intentions clear. Newcastle and Bournemouth have done the same.

Now the question is simple: how far are Arsenal prepared to go, and which midfielder will be wearing red when the window slams shut?