Arteta tight-lipped over reports Arsenal have agreed £75mil Guimaraes deal

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has refused to comment on reports that his club have agreed a £75 million deal for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

The Brazil midfielder's future has been the subject of fevered speculation for weeks since it emerged he wanted to leave Tyneside for the Emirates Stadium.

Asked about a possible move for Guimaraes following Arsenal's 3-1 friendly defeat by Spanish side Real Betis in Dublin on Wednesday, Arteta replied: "I'm not going to talk about any players who aren't Arsenal players."

He added: "I can tell you at the moment that something happens and we can announce it. I will give you my straight answer."

Guimaraes, 28, who joined Newcastle from Lyon in 2022, scored nine goals and provided eight assists in all competitions for the Magpies last season. After a break following Brazil's World Cup campaign, he linked up with Newcastle on the club's pre-season training camp in Spain.

Eddie Howe, who quit as Newcastle manager last week, had admitted he was concerned about losing Guimaraes.

Arsenal have been relatively quiet in the market compared with Tottenham, Manchester City and Chelsea as the new season approaches. Arteta previously said Arsenal were "very active" and "very ambitious in what we want to do".

"We need to increase the competition internally. We need to make sure we identify the things that we don't have in the team," the Spaniard said.

In Dublin, Arsenal were punished for defensive errors, falling behind to first-half goals from Rodrigo Riquelme and Nelson Deossa. The Gunners hit back through Piero Hincapie but Pablo Fornals struck a third for Betis before the break.

Arteta rang the changes at half-time, making seven substitutions, with Louie Copley, who captained Arsenal's Under-21 side last season aged 19, among those who came on. But the highly rated midfielder, deployed at right-back, only featured for 10 minutes before landing awkwardly while chasing the ball. The teenager had to be helped off the pitch as he struggled to put weight on his leg.

"It doesn't look good," Arteta said of Copley. "So let's hope that tomorrow the news is better."

Arsenal open their title defence against Coventry at the Emirates on Aug 21.