Fabio Vieira eager to make Arsenal debut

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By Martin Graham | 21st Jul 2022

Arsenal new signing Fabio Vieira is yet to feature in any of the club’s pre-season games so far. The Portuguese was once again missing in action as the Gunners ran out 3-1 winners against Orlando City in the early hours of Thursday morning.

The 22-year-old joined Arsenal in a £34m switch from Porto and fans have been curious to see what the midfielder is all about, given how highly rated he is among Portuguese sources. He is currently out of action due to a bone injury but is close to full recovery and should be ready for selection soon enough.

More importantly, it is still something of a mystery regarding how Mikel Arteta plans to use the player, considering that he can play in a couple of positions.

Though preferring the no 10 role and through the middle, he can also feature effectively on either flank and has even been likened to Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva by teammate Emile Smith Rowe.

Vieira describes Arsenal atmosphere so far and doubles down on his abilities

Reflecting on his first month with Arsenal, the 22-year-old said: “It’s been good, everyone has welcomed me and I’m ready to start this new challenge. It’s a small injury I picked up one month ago with the national team but now I feel better and in a few days I’ll come back.

“I’m really excited, I can’t wait to get started and play with our supporters at Emirates Stadium. It’s an honour for me to be here.”

Vieira has known more about his new teammates as he works his way from injury and says the atmosphere has been brilliant so far but he still needs to learn better English.

“It’s been good,” he said “We have some Brazilian, Portuguese and Spanish players and it’s easy for me. They help me with the language so I’m very happy. My English is not good but I promise I want to learn!”

Last season’s stats certainly were impressive, with Vieira registering seven goals and 16 assists – including two hat-tricks of assists – which helped contribute to a league and cup double for Porto.

However, Vieira admits that he would rather supply assists than score assists, which has somewhat made curiosity over his playing style peak even more.

“I like to score goals but I prefer assists,” he revealed. “I like to do the last pass and this is one of my best characteristics.

“I want to achieve getting into the Champions League. It’s really important for this club. We deserve it and we have to work hard every day to achieve that.