Bruno Guimaraes sets up Vinicius Jr twice for Brazil

Both of Brazil’s goals were scored by Vinicius Jr, and both were set up by Arsenal midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

The £75million signing created more chances than anyone else on the pitch, while Vinicius had the most shots. Bruno even finished the game wearing the armband after Raphinha was substituted. Gunners defender Gabriel also played the full 90 at centre-back, while Endrick, another Arsenal target, came on after 70 minutes but made little impact.

It’s not the first time Bruno and Vinicius have combined, either. Bruno now has four assists for Brazil, and remarkably, three of them have been for Vinicius. Their connection was obvious at the World Cup in the summer too.

The way both play, Bruno is exactly the type of midfielder to get the best out of Vinicius, and Vinicius is exactly the type of winger to get the best out of Bruno.

Arsenal’s Vinicius Jr pursuit shows what could have been

What could have been. Of course, Arsenal made a serious push to sign Vinicius in the summer, before he signed a new contract at Real Madrid until 2032, with his salary rising to more than €22million a year.

You can’t really blame the club for trying. The board got almost everything right last summer with regards to choosing to sell Martinelli and Trossard and replacing them with a world-class attacker. They went for Vinicius because that’s the level of player every Arsenal fan wants. It just didn’t work out, and with just Tzolis coming in, the attack still feels really short.

It’s a shame Vinicius didn’t make the jump because he’d have been so well suited to Mikel Arteta’s team. At Madrid, the creative players are on the other flank, feeding Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham. At Arsenal, he’d have had Bruno, a midfielder he’s already shown he clicks with.

Instead, he’s scored just once in 12 games for Madrid this season. Bruno, meanwhile, continues to show what he can do when he’s given a runner to find in front of him.