Arsenal sign Meslier on a free and agree personal terms with Guimaraes in £60m move

Arsenal have completed the signing of goalkeeper Illan Meslier and agreed personal terms with Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes as the club accelerates its summer rebuild ahead of a Premier League title defence.

Meslier, 26, joins on a free transfer after seven years at Leeds United, where he made 215 appearances and kept 70 clean sheets before his contract expired. The Frenchman becomes the second confirmed senior addition of the window, following Ecuador defender Piero Hincapie’s £34.5m arrival from Bayer Leverkusen.

“I’m extremely happy. It’s a great day for me because I have just joined the champions,” Meslier said. “For me, Arsenal is the biggest club in England. I cannot wait to win trophies with this team, because this is a club that needs to lift trophies again and again.”

On the Guimaraes front, French outlet L’Equipe reports that the Brazilian has already put pen to paper on a five-year personal contract with Arsenal, with the Gunners preparing a bid of around £60m to test Newcastle’s resolve. The 28-year-old is pushing for the move following Brazil’s last-16 World Cup exit to Norway.

Newcastle have publicly maintained that Guimaraes is not for sale, though the club adopted a similar position over Sandro Tonali before sanctioning his £100m departure to Tottenham earlier this summer. Whether that precedent emboldens Arsenal’s approach remains to be seen, and a deal between the clubs could take time to finalise.

Sporting director Andrea Berta is reported to be working with a transfer budget of around £250m as Arsenal look to stay ahead of domestic rivals. Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool are each beginning fresh eras under new managers, while Manchester United are building on the foundations laid by Michael Carrick.