Bruno Guimarães has had quite a few days at Arsenal. Another missed penalty, a cup exit, and then a huge win over Liverpool to keep his side top of the Premier League.
The Brazilian midfielder responded to Tuesday’s disappointment with an excellent performance at Anfield, particularly defensively, as Arsenal won 1-0.
And he wasn’t exactly keeping quiet, either. His confrontation with Alexis Mac Allister was among the flashpoints in a heated afternoon.
Away from all that, Guimarães has admitted that, after two costly penalty misses in four months, he’s decided his technique needs changing.
Arsenal midfielder admits his penalty technique isn’t working
Speaking exclusively to ESPN Brazil, Guimarães discussed the penalty he missed against Fleetwood Town last Tuesday.
Arsenal were knocked out of the League Cup by the League Two side following a shootout, with the Brazilian failing to convert his attempt.
It was painfully similar to his miss against Norway at the World Cup in July. Both shots went at roughly the same height and towards the goalkeeper’s left.
“I was trying to take them in a certain way. I tried it at the World Cup and I tried it here, and I’ve already seen that it doesn’t work,” Guimarães said.
“I’m humble enough to recognise that I need to improve, that I need to change the way I take them.”
“But one thing is clear to me: this doesn’t change the player I am or the person I am. As I said, I’m humble enough to recognise that it hasn’t been good.”
“My record before the World Cup was very good, and in these last few attempts I haven’t delivered what was expected.”
“It’s something I need to work on, to practise differently. The challenges don’t stop, and if I let this get to me, I’ll only go downhill.”
“I have to turn this around, learn and mature from my mistakes. I’ve already made up my mind that I shouldn’t carry on taking penalties the way I was.”
Before that World Cup miss, Guimarães had converted seven of his eight career penalties.
Now he’s missed two particularly painful ones in quick succession, both in knockout competitions. He’s not planning to give up taking them, though.
“I take three or four penalties a day,” he explained. “It’s something I want to prepare for, so that if it happens again, I don’t let my teammates down.”
“Messi and Mbappé missed penalties at the World Cup. Nobody likes it when that happens. What I have to do is work harder so that when another opportunity comes, I can step up and not miss.”
“I’ll never bow my head to anyone”
Sunday’s trip to Liverpool gave Guimarães a different opportunity to show his character. Arsenal won 1-0 in a fiercely contested match, keeping their place at the top of the Premier League.
The former Newcastle midfielder was particularly impressive without the ball, helping Arsenal protect their lead through a difficult afternoon.
There were plenty of arguments along the way, including one involving Guimarães and Liverpool’s Alexis Mac Allister.
The Brazilian later explained that these confrontations are nothing unusual when the two meet.
“It’s always like that when we play against each other,” he said.
“We try to get into the opponent’s head. It’s part of football. But I’ll never bow my head to anyone.”
It’s a pretty good summary of the attitude Arsenal have brought into their midfield.
A few days after a painful cup exit, he helped Arsenal win at Anfield and stay top of the league. Not a bad way to put a difficult week behind him.
