Arsenal are in no hurry to decide Fabio Vieira’s future after he returned to his former club FC Porto on loan for the current season.
According to Fabrizio Romano on Caught Offside, Arsenal are likely to make a decision on Fabio Vieira’s future following his loan move to former side FC Porto. The club are keen to see how the midfielder progresses before taking a call on what the future holds in terms of his career at the Emirates.
Arsenal will delay Fabio Vieira’s decision
Fabio Vieira arrived two years ago in a €35 million deal from FC Porto with plenty of promise, as Arsenal appeared to have added one of the top emerging talent from Portugal. His performances for the Gunners have not been bad, although he needs continuity and consistency in keeping his fitness levels.
Mikel Arteta has made some stern decisions with his squad this summer and has a trimmed squad at his disposal. These are players he can trust and use to rotate with his preferred eleven for the whole season, and there are doubts about whether Vieira has a place here for the time being.
Arsenal agreed a surprise loan deal with FC Porto, allowing the Portuguese side to re-sign Vieira late in the transfer window. The deal is only a loan agreement, without a buy option or obligation, which shows that Arteta still has faith in the 24-year-old for the future.
Fabrizio Romano has now insisted that Arsenal have not made a decision on the 24-year-old’s future just yet and will make one after assessing his loan spell at Porto. He also assured that the club have not made up their minds and hinted that Vieira could still have a future at the Emirates.
Romano said, “Firstly, it’s time for him to return to playing regular football every week, which is the expectation with the loan to Porto and something he hasn’t been able to achieve to this point with Arsenal. “The loan deal will also allow Arsenal to monitor his progress throughout the 2024/25 season and then assess things again in 2025.
“At that point there will need to be a conversation between Mikel Arteta, the player and his representatives. “By then, the attacking midfielder will be 25 years of age and a definitive decision about his career one way or the other will need to be made.
“I can guarantee that no plans are in place at the moment, and no final decision has been made for Fabio Vieira. “This is why the move is a straight loan.”
Vieira has regressed
The loan move to Porto was a surprise, considering Arsenal had reportedly rejected a few approaches earlier in that period. At first, they had tried to use Vieira on the right wing, and pre-season showed that Arteta might be willing to use him as a backup to Bukayo Saka. Now, they might have a better option for the season in Raheem Sterling, which does make Vieira’s departure make sense.
Vieira has not progressed well during his two years at the club, as his versatility in multiple attacking zones was seen as a massive weapon for Arteta. The Gunners boss will hope he does well at Porto and gives him a choice to use him more next season while, more importantly, asserting the feeling that he has a bright future.
