Arsenal completed the surprise £34million signing of Fabio Vieira from Porto in the summer transfer window and the Portuguese playmaker has been tipped to be 'better than Luis Diaz'.
The Gunners made a total of five new signings over the summer as technical director Edu worked tirelessly to reshape the playing squad and meet Mikel Arteta's demands. Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko have had an instant impact for Arsenal whilst Vieira has had to bide his time after recovering from injury, but he is now starting to show why the club signed him.
Liverpool beat Tottenham to the signing of Porto superstar Luis Diaz in January, but Vieira has been tipped to become a better player than the Colombian winger. The 22-year-old was influential in the Europa League win against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday, grabbing a goal and an assist, but is likely to return to the substitutes' bench for the clash against the Reds this afternoon.
READ MORE: Fabinho sends blunt five-word warning to Arsenal ahead of Liverpool Premier League clash
Vieira impressed for the Portuguese outfit last term scoring seven goals and providing a further 16 assists in just 39 appearances, but his arrival came out of the blue to kick off a busy summer of transfer business for the Gunners. Speaking to talkSPORT, Arsenal legend Ray Parlour said: "I saw him [Vieira] in pre-season, he looked good but then he had an injury and then he started getting back up to speed.
“He’s technically gifted. I met a guy coming back from Portugal and he was sat next to me and he was a big Porto fan and he said ‘you’ve got some player there, Vieira, he’s probably just as good as Luis Diaz, or even better!'”
After scoring on his Premier League debut with a wonderful long-range effort against Brentford, the 22-year-old has continued to impress when given the chance under Arteta as he continues to adapt to his new club. It is unlikely that Vieira will start against Liverpool this afternoon after playing the full 90 minutes against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday, but if he carries on showing his quality when drafted into the first team, Arteta will need to make a big team selection decision.
READ NEXT:
Kieran Tierney starts, Fabio Vieira benched, Zinchenko out - Arsenal predicted XI vs Liverpool
Zinchenko missing, wonderkid called up, what Odegaard did in Arsenal training ahead of Liverpool
Supercomputer predicts shock result in Arsenal vs Liverpool as Gunners eye securing top spot
Thiago absent, Robertson trains as Jurgen Klopp confirms Liverpool pair will miss Arsenal trip
Arsenal news and transfers LIVE: All the latest news, rumours and gossip from the Emirates Stadium
