Arsenal Transfers: Gunners move rapidly to secure agreement for Porto’s Fabio Vieira

Well, well, well. Where did that come from, eh? Arsenal have moved quietly but rapidly to secure an agreement with Porto for the services of midfielder Fabio Vieira.

Vieira is regarded as one of Portugal’s most exciting midfield prospects as he helped Porto to the Primeira Liga title in 2021/22 by notching an impressive 14 assists. The 22-year-old has also captained Portugal at a youth level.

His stellar season with Porto caught the eye of Europe’s elite, and many believe Vieira is on his way to stardom. Thus, it appears that Arsenal may have a gem on their hands.

Arsenal closing in on Fabio Vieira signing from Portugal

Despite the summer transfer window only officially opening last Friday, a few supporters were already growing restless of Arsenal’s perceived idleness in the market. Deals for priority targets Gabriel Jesus and Youri Tielemans were seemingly not progressing, while the club’s domestic rivals have already started to make their moves.

However, Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda dropped a bombshell on Thursday afternoon regarding the future of Porto’s Vieira. He exclusively reported that Arsenal, who weren’t exactly strongly linked with the creative midfielder, have an agreement in place with the Portuguese giants for Vieira’s transfer.

The report has since been confirmed by more sources, including The Athletic’s David Ornstein.

The deal is said to be worth up to €40m with Vieira set to fly to London on Thursday evening to complete his medical and sign a five-year contract with the Gunners. Ornstein adds that this signing was “driven by Mikel Arteta”, who is said to be a huge admirer of the technically proficient playmaker.

Vieira can perform a variety of midfield roles, with much of his bright work last season arriving in a #10/second striker function. The Portuguese Under-21 international can also be utilised as a false nine, as well as in a deeper midfield position.

Thus, it appears that he’ll initially compete with Martin Odegaard for a starting berth as the right-sided #8 in Arteta’s three-man midfield. But, his flexibility means we could see him evolve into somewhat of a swiss-army knife for the Spanish boss.

Overall, this is an incredibly exciting move for the club – one that depicts their intent this summer. It also shouldn’t prevent Tielemans from joining, too.