Bruno Guimarães Reveals Changing Room Message Before Hull Win

Bruno Guimarães has revealed Arsenal’s squad were determined to head into the international break on a high, after learning from their defeat at Brighton before the last one.

Martin Ødegaard’s second-half strike secured a 1-0 win over Hull City at The Emirates Stadium on Saturday, sending the Gunners into the November break at the top of the Premier League.

Arsenal were handed an additional boost just hours later, as Manchester City lost their third consecutive league game at Nottingham Forest, a ground Arteta's side left victorious less than a month ago. 

Speaking after the match, Guimarães explained that the squad had been eager to avoid a repeat of September, when Arsenal suffered a shock defeat at Brighton in their final game before the international break.

‘Impressive. The message for us was clear in the dressing room,’ he explained. ‘The last time we had a break, we lost to Brighton in one of the worst games of our season. The message today was “leave in a good way”, go to our internationals happy.’

That defeat at the Amex remains Arsenal’s only Premier League loss of the season, and the response since has been emphatic. Arteta’s side have won all five of their league games since, against Leeds United, Nottingham Forest, Everton, Liverpool and now Hull.

Guimarães admitted Hull had made it a difficult afternoon, but was full of praise for his side’s record so far this season.

‘We had a tough game, they made it feel so difficult for us, but it’s impressive numbers,’ he added. ‘I’m happy for myself, for the team. We’ll keep going. We’ve been unbelievable.’

The Brazilian’s comments come after Mikel Arteta singled him out for praise following the game. The Arsenal boss said Guimarães is ‘hitting serious levels now’, but revealed he had told the midfielder in the dressing room that there is ‘still much more to come’.

Guimarães has scored two breakthrough goals during his stay in north London, announcing himself to the away support at his former rivals Sunderland, before scoring in his first home league appearance against Leeds United.

The midfielder was predominantly named on the bench at the start of the campaign, following his summer move to Newcastle, though he seems to be claiming the position as his own. Academy graduate Myles Lewis-Skelly has often been rotated with his Brazilian counterpart, though he has also been deployed at left-back due to injuries in the department.

Players will now join up with their national teams, with Guimarães expected to link up with Brazil. The midfielder will travel to Singapore to face Japan, the same opponent he faced at the World Cup knockouts, when he assisted former Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli’s last-minute winner.