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It will take Newcastle United fans some time to get accustomed to seeing Bruno Guimaraes in an Arsenal jersey. The Brazilian midfielder left for the Premier League champions this summer. As a result, Newcastle United not only lost their captain but also arguably their best player. So, when it comes to replacing Guimaraes, they will need to find not just someone with quality but with leadership abilities as well. Let’s see how Newcastle United go about doing that. So far, they have had no luck in that aspect. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg turned down a chance to move to St James’ Park. Joao Palhinha does not seem very receptive to the idea either. On the other hand, Guimaraes has shed some light on his thought process which ultimately led to him leaving Newcastle United in this summer transfer window. Guimaraes opens up on Newcastle United exit According to ESPN Brasil, Guimaraes said: “I spent almost five years at Newcastle, I believe I helped rebuild the club, I arrived at a more difficult time in the club’s history, from my point of view, and with my family I decided to try something new, I am very happy with my opportunity here at Arsenal, and now it’s about continuing to work, very happy to start on the right foot in my first official game, winning the title was very important.” Obviously, the chance to win silverware played a part in his decision as well. Guimaraes further added: “It’s a very strong squad, great players, I think that’s the intention, to fight for everything and we’re going for it.” To be very honest, it is hard to argue with that. There is no doubt that Arsenal have much better chances of competing for silverware than Newcastle United, in both the short and long run. Guimaraes has already won his first title since joining Arsenal In fact, Guimaraes has already tasted some level of success since joining Arsenal. They won the Community Shield at the weekend against Manchester City. Yes, in the eyes of most, that is not much more than a glorified friendly. That being said, one cannot completely overlook the importance of the game or the confidence booster that performance against their closest rivals would have been for Arsenal. As for Newcastle United, they did win the League Cup during Guimaraes’ time at the club. And that triumph will go down in the history books. Unfortunately, at this point, it looks like Newcastle United are not looking to compete for the biggest prizes in the game anymore. Instead, the new focus might be on sustainability. Their transfer policy this summer is the biggest indicator. They have lost three of their best players. And instead of going out trying to replace them, the Magpies have only signed highly-rated youngsters so far. In time, they might develop into quality players. But right now, it is hard to see how they can improve the team or even keep the Magpies at the same level as last season.