It is incredibly rare in modern day football for a signing to take almost everyone by surprise, due to its behind the scenes works and secretive talks.
We had a similar case before last season when Aston Villa caught fans off guard with the secretive signing of Danny Ings – a deal which not only shocked supporters but playing staff too.
And in signing Fabio Vieira from Portuguese champions FC Porto, Arsenal and boss Mikel Arteta have pulled off their own major surprise too.
After finishing fifth in the Premier League in 2021/22 losing out on a Champions League berth to fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur, Arteta is aiming to considerably bolster his squad as they chase a return to the European elite. They’ve already brought in Gabriel Jesus from Manchester City, goalkeeper Matt Turner from New England Revolution and Marquinhos from Sao Paulo.
After being linked with a number of high-profile players, however, Vieira’s arrival came out of the blue.
It has been reported that Arteta pushed hard for a deal to be done, with the Arsenal manager having been impressed with Vieira’s performances as Porto won the title in Portugal.
In fact, with the Spaniard looking to build a squad similar to the one Pep Guardiola possesses over at his old club Manchester City, Arsenal now have their very own Bernardo Silva. A player blessed with unerring technical attributes and a creative weaponry that made him one of the most devastating attacking midfielders in Portugal last term.
So what will Arsenal be getting with the 23-year-old?
Who is Fabio Vieira?
Born in Santa Maria da Feira in the Aveiro District, Vieira started out for the FC Porto juniors, playing nine matches as won the 2018–19 UEFA Youth League, and scored in their 3–1 win against Chelsea in the final in Nyon in April 2019.
Vieira went on to make his senior debut with Porto B in February 2019, coming on as a 57th-minute substitute for João Mário in a 1–0 away defeat to Arouca in the LigaPro. Six months later, he scored for the first time with a penalty in a 3–1 away victory over Farense.
Vieira made his first team bow in June 2020, featuring for 19 minutes in the 1–0 Primeira Liga home defeat of Marítimo. Again from the bench, he scored his first goal in the competition the following month in July to help the hosts beat Belenenses SAD 5–0 and went on to feature in eight games at the end of the season for the eventual champions.
He found more space within the first team during the 2021–22 campaign, more significantly in the second half of the campaign following Luis Diaz’ winter transfer to Liverpool in January becoming a crucial figure in attack for Sergio Conceição’s side, replacing the Colombian’s goals and creativity.
The 23-year-old impressed internationally too in the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship where he was named player of the tournament in the finals in Hungary and Slovenia, featuring in all six games and netting once for the runners-up.
He provided two hat-tricks of assists against Moreirense and Belenenses SAD during the 2021/22 campaign totalling 14 assists – second-best in the league – and six goals to help his side to a domestic double of the league and Taça de Portugal.
How did Vieira fare last season? What’s his style of play?
While the 21-year-old only played a bit-part role for the Portuguese champions last season, he became a far more prominent figure in the first team after Luis Diaz’ departure to Liverpool.
Previously hailed as a “rising star“, he already has 11 goals in 19 games for Portugal’s Under-21 side, with his manager there, Rui Jorge, hailing the Porto starlet as “a very technically advanced player’ with a ‘great future“.
With 27 league games under his belt this season, the Portuguese wizard astonishingly recorded six goals and delivered 14 assists, which is more contributions any other Porto player. He also ranked as Liga NOS’ second-best assist maker for the 2021/22 campaign.
A left-footed attacking midfielder who does most of his work in central positions, though he also likes to drift into the right inside channel – just like his compatriot Bernardo Silva. Vieira’s main focus is in the creation of chances for his teammates, and he particularly stands out in that regard due to his wonderful left foot, vision, deftness and accuracy of pass and a tremendous knack for some astonishing defence-splitting passes, as evidenced in the image below.
Vieira is an incredibly intelligent footballer, but more precisely an intelligent and meticulous investigator of space, regularly scanning the pitch ahead of him to pick out pockets of space that he can exploit to hurt opposition defences. His constant positions in between the lines, in the half-space or centrally means he is an expert at operating in tight and congested areas. This is down to wonderful close control, spatial awareness and speed of thought when forming attacking moves or directly creating chances.
His constant scanning ahead helps him spot gaps in the opposition’s back line at an early stage; as he receives, he is aware of pitch ahead, carrying an image in his head of what he wants to target, and executes it to such sublime precision with an incisive pass, as shown above.
He also breaks the last line with passes over the opposition centre-backs. When he turns on the ball having received between the lines or between opposition midfielders, a centre-forward will set off on a direct run in behind. His type of through balls are constant, but differing in style, sometimes on the floor all in the air, and he is incredibly adept at them.
Vieira also has the ability to create chances from set-pieces, particularly when delivering outswinging balls from the left. He can also provide quality balls after receiving a short pass from a set-piece, delivering from a different angle which upsets and unnerves opposition defences.
To further highlight how much of a dangerous attacking figure he is, no other player at Porto has managed to equal the number of crosses that Vieira (95) has made throughout this campaign.
He was also listed in the top 10 for shots per 90 minutes in the Portuguese league last term, highlighting his courageousness in getting shots away.
His overall performances earned him a season rating of 7.45 from SofaScore, making him the fifth-best ranked player in the Porto squad.
This all shows why the midfielder has been likened to Mesut Ozil by football talent scout Jacek Kulig on Twitter, who also said that the player has a “left foot made of gold.” He’s also been stylistically compared by journalist Sam Tighe to Manchester City’s Bernardo Silva, who also held the same measured attacking approach before
Blessed with wonderful skill, technical excellence, a sumptuous left foot and the unique ability to operate consummately in the half-space and in between the lines, the Portuguese maestro could well offer much variation and flexibility to Arteta’s weaponry next term due to his versatility: capable of playing on the right-wing, at no.10, even as a false-nine or in an advanced central midfield role.
The 23-year-old maestro is also an adept ball-carrier especially when drifting wider from central areas. One of his most striking attributes is his ability to drive forward with the ball while targeting a specific defender to commit. He locks on to his target, knowing they will have to engage him at some point, while keeping an eye on teammates ahead of him who he can look to slip in behind the opposition.
As the opponent tries to engage with a tackle, Vieira times his release superbly well to supply a teammate through on goal. Last campaign saw him register a whopping 14 big chances created, along with his 14 assists whilst also averaging 1.3 key passes per game showcasing his majestic abilities in the final third.
With outlets such as Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka all capable of running in behind opposition defences, Vieira would well enjoy a field day when threading sumptuous through balls to play them through on goal.
Although he doesn’t dribble and attack opponents 1v1 as much as a winger, his ability to receive and drive forward helps progress play when passing options are initially limited. He times his bursts and decelerations to lose his opponent, before then looking for a penetrative pass.
Taking into account how Arsenal have racked up the eight-best goal-creating actions (82) in the Premier League this season, possessing the qualities of the £13.5m-rated playmaker could certainly propel Arteta’s gameplan at the Emirates.
Such an incredible influence and abilities in the attack means the Gunners could be one of the most exciting teams to watch next season, especially because of the wonderful blend of attacking qualities in the Spaniard’s brilliantly constructed squad.
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