With William Saliba sidelined through injury, the Premier League champions have made a central defender a priority, having seen a move for John Stones fall through after the England international agreed to join Inter on a free transfer; Aston Villa's Ezri Konsa remains an alternative option.
In midfield, Arsenal's primary target is Guimarães, who is understood to have already agreed a five-year contract with the club. Convincing Newcastle remains the harder task: the Magpies have rejected every offer so far, including a proposal worth a reported €85m submitted a few days ago according to Brazilian media, and Guimarães, their captain, would follow Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali out of St James' Park this summer if a fee can eventually be agreed.
Newcastle United signed Guimarães from Lyon for around €50m in January 2022, a deal that included a 20% sell-on clause for the French club, and he has gone on to make almost 200 appearances, including in the club's Carabao Cup final win over Liverpool that ended a 70-year domestic trophy drought.
Arsenal are also looking to strengthen in attack after missing out on Morgan Rogers, who instead joined Chelsea, with Bradley Barcola of Paris Saint-Germain considered an alternative option. The club has also explored a move for Vinícius, who is out of contract in a year and has yet to agree a renewal with Real Madrid; some sources suggest the Spanish club would not rule out a sale, while Sky Sports maintains the Brazilian is set to stay and extend his deal.
Amid that uncertainty, Arsenal, who had previously offered Vinícius lucrative terms, are said to be moving on to other targets. Regardless of how that situation develops, the Gunners know they must trim their squad both to create space and to raise funds for further business.
According to the Evening Standard, five players have been identified for potential departure. Having already sold Leandro Trossard and Jakub Kiwior for a combined fee of around £35m, Arsenal are ready to listen to offers for Gabriel Jesus, whose contract runs until 2027 and will not be renewed; the club has set an asking price of around £23m for the Brazilian, who earns £290,000 a week, and would be prepared to let him leave for nothing next summer if no suitable bid arrives.
Compatriot Gabriel Martinelli, represented by Roc Nation, the same agency that represents Vinícius, is also available if an offer arrives, while Ethan Nwaneri, whose loan at Marseille in the second half of last season failed to convince, is being pushed towards the exit either via a permanent sale or a fresh loan.
Fabio Vieira, who returned to London after a season on loan at Hamburg, remains subject to talks with the German club, who have so far been put off by Arsenal's £20m valuation, and Reiss Nelson, who has interest from Fulham, is also being encouraged to leave in order to remove his hefty salary from the wage bill.
Arsenal hope any funds raised can go towards three priority additions this summer: a central defender, a midfielder and an attacker.