Fabio Vieira was confirmed as Arsenal's second summer signing last week following the Portuguese playmaker's £30million move from Porto.
Vieira scored seven goals and provided an impressive 16 assists across all competitions last term, averaging a direct goal contribution every 87 minutes. The Gunners will not be short of creativity in attack next season with the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka and now Vieira all competing for places in Arteta's starting lineup.
The Gunners have already secured the signing of young Brazilian talent Marquinhos from Sao Paulo this summer, as well as American goalkeeper Matt Turner who is expected to be backup for Aaron Ramsdale, with Bernd Leno set to leave the Emirates. Arsenal are still pursuing deals for Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus and Leicester midfielder Youri Tielemans as Arteta and technical director Edu look to strengthen the squad even further ahead of next season.
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So, what sort of impact could Vieira have on Arteta's side over the next three seasons? Could the midfielder help the team qualify for the Champions League?
We simulated the next three seasons with Vieira in the Arsenal squad and this is what happened.
We simulated Fabio Vieira's impact at Arsenal
To set up this simulation, we used the Football Manager 2022 editor to move Vieira into Arsenal's squad at the start of the summer transfer window, using FM22 to run the simulation. This is what the 22-year-old's in-game profile looks like on FM22.
Vieira is a very versatile midfielder that can play anywhere behind the striker, as well as in a deeper central midfield role. The Portuguese playmaker has impressive attributes considering his age, with his standout attributes being his Technique (16), Vision (16), Decisions (15), Passing (15), First Touch (15), Dribbling (15), Flair (15) and Balance (15).
Vieira has been compared to Manchester City's Bernardo Silva in terms of play style and ability on the ball, with the 22-year-old tending to try and play the killer ball often and moving the ball onto his favoured left foot before attempting to dribble or shoot. So, how did Vieira perform over the next three seasons for the Gunners? Let's find out.
It was a difficult debut season at the Emirates as the Portuguese playmaker struggled to nail down a starting spot in Arteta's team as he adapted to the Premier League, making a total of 25 appearances for the Gunners. Vieira registered just five goal contributions in his first season at Arsenal, a poor return considering his impressive 2021/22 campaign for Porto and looking at how well others have adapted to England's top-flight when moving from Portugal, such as Liverpool's Luis Diaz.
Vieira stepped up his performance in his second season in north London, scoring seven goals and registering six assists in 34 appearances. The improvement in the Portuguese midfielder's performance was clear to see as his average match rating had skyrocketed from 6.97 in his debut season to an impressive 7.26 in his second year at the Emirates.
Vieira's performances saw him earn more games under Arteta, resulting in more goal contributions as he started to show his quality in the Premier League and repay the £30 million price tag. In the 2024/25 season, the now 24-year-old started to make more of a difference in front of goal whilst maintaining his creativity threat in the number 10 role.
Vieira registered six assists for a second successive season but took his tally for goals into double figures with 12 in 36 appearances. The Portuguese playmaker had added goals to his game and became a serious threat for opposition teams due his ability to create and score goals in and around the penalty box.
Vieira's performances had been monitored by Europe's elite clubs and the Gunners reluctantly parted ways with the 25-year-old after three seasons at the Emirates as he made the £119million move to Bayern Munich. The Gunners pocketed a profit just shy of £90million for Vieira, with the Portuguese playmaker returning a total of 21 goals and 15 assists in 95 appearances for the north Londoners.
During his time at Arsenal, Vieira helped the club win the FA Cup twice in back-to-back seasons, as well as the Europa League in his debut season at the Emirates. The Portuguese midfielder featured in the Gunners' best XI in each season after joining from Porto, earning his first international cap in 2023 and scoring his first international goal in 2024.
Overall, our simulation suggests that Fabio Vieira could take time to fit into Arteta's system and adjust to the Premier League but show his quality and potential once he settled into life at the Emirates. Vieira's continued improvement could help the Gunners return to the Champions League, winning the FA Cup twice and Europa League title as he became a crucial player in Arsenal's side.
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