Bruno Guimaraes made his first appearance for Arsenal as the Premier League champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Como.
The Brazilian midfielder arrived from Newcastle United for a reported £75 million last week and was given his Arsenal debut at half-time, receiving a warm welcome from the home supporters as Mikel Arteta began integrating his latest major signing into the squad.
Arsenal had taken the lead through Myles Lewis-Skelly, but Martin Baturina equalised before the break to ensure the Gunners could not finish their pre-season campaign with a victory.
Our final pre-season run-out comes to a close.
🚨 We’ll now move onto a penalty shootout 🚨 pic.twitter.com/sM6S3EQo53
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 12, 2026
Lewis-Skelly opened the scoring after taking advantage of a poor pass from Como goalkeeper Jean Butez. The 19-year-old midfielder made no mistake with the opportunity and celebrated by forming a heart with his hands in front of the Emirates crowd.
His goal came amid continued speculation over his future at Arsenal, making the moment particularly notable. However, Como quickly responded as Baturina found the net before half-time, firing past Kepa Arrizabalaga to bring the visitors level.
Guimaraes Gets First Arsenal Minutes
The biggest talking point of the afternoon was undoubtedly Guimaraes, who entered the game at the interval after just three training sessions with his new teammates.
Arteta was pleased with what he saw from the Brazilian, who had pushed to feature in front of the Arsenal supporters as quickly as possible.
A special message from our newest Gunner 🤳 pic.twitter.com/4CRg0cBYCK
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 12, 2026
“He only had three training sessions, but he looked good,” Arteta said. “He was really pushing to play some minutes today. I think he wanted to get his debut and the feeling of playing in front of our fans immediately.”
The Arsenal manager also believes Guimaraes can quickly develop a strong connection with his new teammates and make an immediate impact on the team.
“You sense immediately, I believe, a strong connection at play that is going to make us better,” Arteta added.
Arsenal were without several of their established stars, with Bukayo Saka, Declan Rice and Martin Zubimendi left out after only recently returning from World Cup duty. Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, Mikel Merino and David Raya were among those who made their first pre-season appearances.
The draw means Arsenal end their preparations without a win in their final two friendlies, but Arteta will have taken plenty from the game ahead of Sunday’s Community Shield meeting with Manchester City.
Arsenal and Como also went through a penalty shootout after the final whistle, with the Gunners eventually winning 4-3. New signing Christos Tzolis scored the decisive penalty to give Arsenal a small boost before their first competitive fixture of the new season.
