For a club that has just won the Premier League and was reportedly promised a spending war chest of around £250million (about A$478 million) this window, Arsenal have been strangely restrained.

The champions have made moves, but nothing yet resembling the marquee splash their supporters were led to expect, and the latest Arsenal transfer news does little to settle that tension.

That relative quiet is the backdrop to the latest Arsenal transfer news, which centres on a disputed report about Newcastle midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.

Reports of opened talks have run straight into a firm denial from the north east, leaving fans unsure what to actually believe.

So far, sporting director Andrea Berta has ticked off tidy rather than headline business.

Arsenal made Piero Hincapie's loan permanent for around £34.5m (about A$65 million), added goalkeeper Illan Meslier on a free transfer, and reshaped the left wing by selling Leandro Trossard for roughly £17m (about A$32 million) before signing Club Brugge's Christos Tzolis for about £34m, a move expected to be formalised this week.

There is, however, a growing unease among supporters that the bigger jobs remain undone.

Berta is yet to offload fringe players such as Fabio Vieira and Gabriel Jesus, and Arsenal have not landed the starting-calibre forward, midfielder and defender many felt the squad needed.

Perhaps most tellingly, a cautious approach appears to have cost them targets. Having missed out on teenage prospect Jeremy Monga, Arsenal declined to meet Aston Villa's valuation of Morgan Rogers, and Chelsea swooped to agree a deal reported at £117m (about A$223 million).

It is against that patient, valuation-conscious approach that the Guimaraes story should really be read. Berta, it seems, is unwilling to overpay, even for a player Arteta clearly admires.

Guimaraes Update Explained

The Times reported on Tuesday that Arsenal had officially opened talks for the 28-year-old Brazilian, with Newcastle said to value him at around £75m (about A$143 million). It looked, briefly, like the marquee midfield signing Arsenal fans had been waiting for.

Newcastle sources tell a different story. According to reports, there has been no bid, no formal offer and no direct contact between the two clubs, with any discussions taking place behind the scenes through intermediaries.

Super-agent Kia Joorabchian is understood to be involved in sorting out the player's future.

Guimaraes has reportedly told Newcastle he wants to leave to chase silverware elsewhere, with Arsenal his most likely destination and his contract running down to under two years.

One single-source report even claims, via transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, that personal terms are already agreed and Newcastle's real valuation sits nearer £90m, though that figure is not independently confirmed and should be treated with caution.