Official: Arsenal announce signing of Fabio Vieira from Porto

Arsenal have announced the arrival of Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira from Porto on a five-year deal.

A €40m deal for the 22-year-old’s services was wrapped up in no time at the end of last week with the player completing his medical with the club over the weekend.

Fans have been impatiently waiting for the player’s official unveiling, with Arsenal’s Twitter admin teasing supporters on Tuesday. Some Gooners were quick to catch a pattern in the club’s tweets that indicated an official announcement was imminent.

Eventually, the club officially announced Vieira’s arrival on Tuesday evening.

Arsenal officially announce the arrival of Fabio Vieira from Porto

The midfielder arrives from Porto having registered a league-high 14 assists in the Primeira Liga last season. Arsenal’s new #21 is relatively inexperienced at a senior level, starting less than half of Porto’s league games in 2021/22, but his ceiling is undisputedly sky-high.

He’s the technically proficient creator that Mikel Arteta and Gooners will grow to adore, and he’ll certainly challenge Martin Odegaard for a spot in the Spaniard’s starting XI right away. Nevertheless, the club’s return to the Europa League will hand Vieira ample opportunity to impress in his first season at the Emirates.

Speaking on his arrival, Technical Director Edu said: “We’re so pleased to have completed the signing of Fabio from FC Porto. Fabio is a player with special qualities who is comfortable with the ball in the final third of the pitch. We are all looking forward to working with him and enjoying his future contribution to Arsenal. We will now continue to work hard and are looking forward to finishing this transfer window as strongly possible.”

Mikel Arteta added: ”I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent. Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play. We welcome Fabio and his family to our club and are looking forward to starting work with him ahead of the new season.”

Vieira is Arsenal’s second summer arrival in what’s poised to be a busy transfer window for the club. The Gunners are hopeful of bolstering their attacking ranks with the addition of Brazilian duo Gabriel Jesus and Raphinha, while versatile Ajax defender Lisandro Martinez is another player on the club’s radar.