Brazil booked their place in the last 16 of the World Cup and Arsenal fans had plenty of eyes on not only their current players, but Bruno Guimaraes too.
Guimaraes was once again given the full 90 minutes by Carlo Ancelotti and ended up playing a pivotal role in the Selecao’s win.
Of course, it was Gabriel Martinelli who took the headlines with the winning goal, while Gabriel Magalhaes also produced a fine assist to help Casemiro score the equaliser.
Still, watching Bruno Guimaraes was also interesting viewing for the Arsenal fans and after a somewhat shaky first 45 minutes, it’s safe to say he produced in the second half.
💰 Bruno Guimaraes is turning 29 in November and has TWO years left on his contract… How much should Arsenal pay to sign him?
Bruno Guimaraes shows his class as Brazil beat Japan
While most Arsenal fans will agree that signing Guimaraes improves them, for many, he is seen as someone to come in and perhaps be more of a defensive player.
But against Japan in the second 45 minutes, he showed just what is all about going forward.
Guimaraes seemed to advance up the pitch another 15 yards and he caused problems galore for the Japanese in the final third.
As the stats show, Guimaraes made four key passes leading to big chances for Brazil, including the decisive assist for Gabriel Martinelli to fire in the winner.
In terms of passing and keeping the ball, Guimaraes excelled, completing over 91% of his passes in what was an extremely busy midfield due to Japan’s constant hounding.
He also put in a team high eight crosses during the game, with both Casemiro and Vinicius Junior both coming close to getting on the end of one.
It’s now four assists for Bruno in this tournament and for Arsenal fans, he’s very much shown this evening why they need to sign him.
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