It’s a little weird to start off today’s blog with a story about another club, but with the news breaking as I’ve started to type about Eddie Howe leaving Newcastle, it’s hard not to put two and two together. Sky Sports are talking about this at the moment in the background as I’m typing and Jay Boothroyd is talking about how Newcastle have lost some of their best players this summer, how they haven’t kicked on, how Howe clearly has told the players that unless there’s investment he’s on the move, then this news breaks.

Why I’m talking about it is obvious; Bruno Guimaraes is clearly edging closer towards an Arsenal move. And that’s good news for us. Yesterday on the Arsenal Opinion Podcast show Johnny and I talked about the player – as many of us have on numerous pods – but I went as far as to say Bruno G could have a more transformational impact on The Arsenal than Vini Junior would. That’s not just a soundbite designed to raise eyebrows; I believe it, because of the style of player he is. And I’m getting a bit hot on him, I have to say. He’s a tempo-setter; he’ll be the person to pick the ball up deep, distribute, but also win the ball back and provide goals too. He bagged nine goals and eight assists in all competitions last season. He’s also fairly robust. He missed 14 games with a hamstring injury last season, but according to TransferMarkt, he’s only missed 22 matches in the last six seasons. That’s the kind of record I can get behind.

He’s prime age too. He’s a leader; Eddie Howe had him as his captain, so his leaving Newcastle tells me that the manager has had enough, because this deal is nearing completion.

And, in classic transfer ‘peaks-and-troughs’ style news yesterday, we also got some competing views from the Sky Sports news at the beginning of the week, with the latest noises around Vini Junior that maybe this deal isn’t as dead as Gary “let’s have dinner together Jose” Cotterill would have you think. Supposedly, there are more talks this week; there is a big gap in the wage requirements and image rights, and that doesn’t seem like it’s changing any time soon. I guess from the clubs side, it’s probably about Vini coming more to them than them getting closer to his wants. If that’s the case, maybe this deal goes from ‘fading’ to “well, maybe it’s a 25% chance it happens”?

Again, we’ll just have to sit here and wait.

At least we have something else to talk about, though, because Mikel was interviewed on the official site , and he’s talked about how he’s back and ready to go. I loved the video and his take on how we have all gone through a ‘story’ together. His reminder of where we were when he took over is timely; we’re all still euphoric about being Premier League champions, but let’s never forget that it was Mikel who has steered us through this journey. Through the bad times and now to the good, he has been the driving force. No matter what happens in the future, I am going to remember that and always be thankful to him for that. Like, I was thankful to Arsene for what he did for the club. Yes, it got a little toxic towards the end; yes, it kind of fizzled out rather than ended with a bang, but with the benefit of time, I can be appreciative of what Arsene achieved at Arsenal. I choose to only look at the positives now. Mikel Arteta has etched himself into Arsenal history, and although one day it will come to an end, in the fullness of time, I’m sure all Arsenal fans will choose to only remember the good things.

Look at me, I’m talking as if he’s on his way out, which of course none of us want. What we want is for the team to be ready to go come that first game of the second in a few weeks, and it sounds as though the players are chomping at the bit. I liked his comment about Declan Rice saying “I could come back on this date, then be ready to play on this date” – yes please, let’s have some of those vibes from the players, because it’s easy to think they’ll all be a bit football-ed out having played so many games last season. But they need to rest up, then take advice from the club on when to be integrated back in. The fact that Mikel referenced having three different pre-seasons for those players returning also shows you just how challenging it is going to be for him to kick the season off. He needs to get the balance right and not rush players back, but equally, if they are showing all the signs of being ready, he has to make sure he re-introduces them at the right time to maintain the energy in the group. We’re the champions. We have a target on our backs. Everyone will want to knock us off our perch. So we need to be ready for that, because they’re all coming for us.

Back tomorrow.