Andrea Berta personally wants to sign Alexander Isak's £70m Newcastle teammate at Arsenal

Andrea Berta is yet to be confirmed as Arsenal’s brand-new sporting director but since the speculation about him heading to the Emirates Stadium has begun, the 53-year-old has constantly been in the news.

But with Arsenal being in advanced talks to appoint Berta as Edu Gaspar’s long-term heir, it was expected that the Italian would become one of the biggest talking points surrounding Mikel Arteta’s side.

Interestingly, while Andrea Berta is yet to be officially appointed by the Gunners, he already seems to be working in the background to have a potentially transformative impact on the club.

Matheus Cunha is Berta’s dream striker at Arsenal and he has already informed that to be the case — having signed the Wolves forward at Atletico Madrid.

Andrea Berta is expected to push for Jonathan David as well, who is another centre-forward he is a fan of.

Berta eyes three contract renewals at Arsenal as well, involving their star names such as Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes. For the Emirates faithful, all the noise surrounding the former Atletico Madrid sporting director will be music to their ears as he seems incredibly proactive and more importantly, ambitious.

Andrea Berta wants to sign Bruno Guimaraes at Arsenal

Evidently, Arsenal could splash the cash under Berta who seems ready to take them to the next level.

Berta could have a lot on his place if he does end up heading to North London but so far, he seems up for the challenge.

Andrea Berta is a man who has his priorities set, with journalist Ben Jacobs disclosing that he has his sights set on signing Bruno Guimaraes from Newcastle United at Arsenal.

Jacobs said on GiveMeSport’s Market Madness show: “In addition, Andrea Berta will put forward Bruno Guimaraes, who has been on Arsenal’s radar before and again, Newcastle are not going to sell Isak and Guimaraes so there’s a couple of aspects here that make it complicated. But the difference between Isak and Guimaraes is that Bruno Guimaraes has a verbal pact with Newcastle United that will allow him to leave for significantly south of the £100 million release clause that was active last summer.”

Newcastle are aware Guimaraes could very well leave if they fail to secure Champions League football and in the event that he is on the market, Andrea Berta and Arsenal could sign the Brazilian for a fee ranging from £60 to £70 million.

Ben Jacobs added: “And in the winter window, the number was in the region of £80 million. This summer, Bruno Guimaraes could be available for £60 to £70 million to a Champions League club if Newcastle themselves also don’t get Champions League football. And that is a verbal pact. So, [Martin] Zubimendi is very much the Edu, [Jason] Ayto target but Berta’s going to be looking at Bruno Guimaraes.”

How much Arsenal were willing to pay to sign Bruno Guimaraes last summer

Andrea Berta may well have been informed that Arsenal seemingly tried to sign Guimaraes last summer.

However, Steve Kay revealed that Mikel Arteta and Co valued the former Lyon midfielder at £50-£60 million rather than the £100 million fee they were being quoted due to his release clause: “He’s a really good player, is he a £100 million midfielder? I don’t think so and that turned off Arsenal and Man City. If he became available, similarly to [Viktor] Gyokeres, at about £50-60 million, I’m sure he’d be someone we’d be looking at but at the price they want, I think they more or less immediately said no.”

But now that Guimaraes could be available at around £60 to £70 million, perhaps Andrea Berta feels he would be the perfect signing to reinvigorate Arsenal’s midfield, especially considering Thomas Partey could leave this summer.