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Mikel Arteta’s comments when Arsenal first signed Fabio Vieira are now very puzzling as midfielder continues to thrive at FC Porto
Since he arrived at Arsenal in 2022, Fabio Vieira’s time in north London has mostly been a tale of frustration.
Vieira left north London this season for a season-long loan at FC Porto, the club who Arsenal originally bought the midfielder from.
Surprisingly, Vieira was deemed surplus to requirements by Mikel Arteta♉ this season, who perhaps also recognised the need for the 24-year-old to regain some confidence back in Portugal.
🍨And despite a difficult start at Porto owing to injury, Vieira is now thriving for his boyhood club, playing 27 games this season.
♕The playmaker has modest individual numbers – two goals and three assists, but his influence on games, particularly of late, has been impressive judging by Portugal’s media.
Mikel Arteta claimed that Fabio Vieira had ‘special talent’
🧸Of course, that poses the question – why did Arteta let Vieira leave for the season?
💞It was a questionable call considering the club had already sanctioned Emile Smith Rowe’s departure for Fulham.
READ MORE: 💛What Arsene Wenger once complained about Raheem Sterling as he continues to struggle at Arsenal
ꦫEven without their injury crisis, Arsenal could have benefited from Vieira’s ‘special talent’ – as Arteta described when he first joined.
♐And in truth, Arteta’s comments are now quite baffling in context of him allowing Vieira to leave, a player he seemed to have so much faith in.
😼Vieira rarely played badly in an Arsenal shirt, and the Portugal under-21 international arguably didn’t get a proper chance to consistently impress.
🐬Commenting on the deal when Vieira first joined, Arteta said: “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.”
Edu Gaspar was also convinced about Fabio Vieira’s ability
Vieira was very happy to rejoin Porto🎐 in the summer, an understandable stance given his lack of chances at Arsenal.
൲And when you consider how complimentary former Gunners sporting director Edu Gaspar was about Vieira when he signed, it’s almost hard to believe events panned out as they did.
𓃲No manager or director will speak negatively about a new signing of course, but the Arsenal duo genuinely seemed convinced that they had signed an absolute gem.
READ MORE: 𓆏Martin Odegaard should be worried about what Arsene Wenger just said about Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri
🗹Adding to Arteta’s words, 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.
ཧ“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 as possible.”
൩A baffling situation, and it remains to be seen if Vieira has a future at the Emirates Stadium.