"I never felt so loved" - Bruno Guimarães opens up on Newcastle farewell

Bruno Guimarães has revealed that he and his Newcastle teammates were in tears when he said goodbye before joining Arsenal, admitting the decision cost him many nights of sleep.

Speaking after Arsenal's 2-2 Champions League draw at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, in comments reported by David Hytner in The Guardian, our former captain described the emotional difficulty of leaving St James' Park.

Bruno on his Newcastle farewell and the summer upheaval

On telling Howe, the owners and his teammates that he wanted to leave, Bruno said:

"It was not just hard to tell Eddie but to tell the owners and my teammates [about deciding to leave Newcastle]. But I think the club went to a new rotation; a lot of players left, as well. The gaffer left. It was tough because my connection with the club was unbelievable. I never felt so loved like the way I was at Newcastle. I hope I can have the same love here at Arsenal.

"It was hard for me to say bye. I remember when I said bye to the lads, I was crying. They were crying as well because we were a family there. I lost many, many nights of sleep because it was difficult for me, for my family. But sometimes in your life you have to make decisions and in my mind, I needed a new challenge. I wish Newcastle all the best because they were so nice to me. It is just time to move on and I've been enjoying my time here at Arsenal, as well."

By the end of the summer, Newcastle had lost both the captain and manager who helped deliver the Carabao Cup, along with Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali. It was a substantial rebuild little more than a year after that Wembley win.

St James' Park reunion next month

Newcastle host Arsenal on Saturday 21 November at 5.30pm, bringing Bruno back to the ground where he was once loved.

Joelinton has already sent his close friend a warning ahead of that return, joking that he should expect a tough game while speaking warmly about their friendship and Bruno's contribution to Newcastle.

Joelinton's affection for his friend has clearly survived the transfer, but the fans' hasn't.

If Bruno is hoping to find the same sort of love from Arsenal fans, I think he'll be disappointed. There aren't many supporters who take players to their hearts quite like we do up here.

Wrong Newcastle fans and you'll know about it, and he'll get a taste of that first hand in November.