Arsenal ‘agree’ to loan £34m Arteta signing as Ornstein reveals star ‘not in squad’ vs Aston Villa
Arsenal have agreed to loan Fabio Vieira to his former club, FC Porto, to ‘ensure consistent game time’, according to David Ornstein.
Mikel Arteta’s side paid £34million to sign the Portuguese midfielder from Porto in the 2022 summer transfer window.
The transfer came out of the blue with Vieira brought in to compete with Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard and Granit Xhaka.
The 24-year-old has failed to nail down a regular starting spot under Arteta, featuring 17 times across all competitions last season after making 33 appearances in 2022/23.
Although starts have been few and far between for Vieira, he only has three goals and nine assists in 49 appearances for Arsenal.
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That is a disappointing return for a big investment, with the Portuguese playmaker struggling to adapt to the pace and physicality of the Premier League.
Vieira is currently injured and was not involved in the Gunners’ opening day victory at home to Wolves.
Arsenal sanction loan for £34m Arteta signing – Ornstein
After an underwhelming two years in north London, the midfielder has been given the opportunity to prove himself to Arteta again with a season on loan at his former club.
This is according to The Athletic journalist David Ornstein, who says ‘Porto have agreed a deal to bring Vieira back to the club on loan’.
Ornstein says that the arrival of Mikel Merino from Real Sociedad and the emergence of 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri mean Vieira’s ‘opportunities would be limited’, with a loan move to Porto likely to ‘ensure consistent game time’.
It is confirmed that the 24-year-old is not going to be included in the Arsenal squad for their Premier League trip to Aston Villa on Saturday evening.
Nwaneri was given the chance to impress and is the best Hale End product since Bukayo Saka, and has the potential to be even better.
It would appear that Arteta is not considering loaning the teenager out for first-team experience and is ready to trust him with minutes in the Premier League and Champions League this season.
Merino is expected to join from Real Sociedad for around £30m, though he is not a similar profile to Smith Rowe and Vieira.
If Arteta opts against signing a direct replacement for both players, we can expect to see Nwaneri feature heavily in 2024/25.
Arteta might have other plans, though. For all we know, he is coaching Leandro Trossard to become the best central midfielder in the world.
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