Fabio Vieira may not be an Arsenal player today if it wasn't for Mikel Arteta after the Spaniard confirmed he had a big say in signing the midfielder.
The Athletic had previously reported that the £34million signing of Vieira was driven by Arteta, who expressed his admiration for the player for a number of months. Speaking to the press ahead of the Europa League clash with FC Zurich, Arteta confirmed his influence in the deal and expressed just how impressed he was after watching the 22-year-old.
"We were looking for players that could play in three positions in the frontline and in the attacking midfielder positions," he said. "We were looking for very specific qualities in the market and when I saw him, I really liked what I saw. Straight away, I was convinced that he was a player who can help us go to the next level and that he had the right personality and character to play for our club."
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Despite joining the club in June, Vieira only made his debut for the first team against Manchester United at the weekend after recovering from an injury during pre-season. However, his 15 minute cameo at Old Trafford was encouraging and Arteta believes there's more to come.
"It’s a shame that we detected an injury when we were doing the medical. He had no pre-season and everything has been delayed, but hopefully you’re going to see a lot more of him in the next few weeks, and I’m sure that you’ll enjoy it."
It is expected that Vieira will get more minutes under his belt against Zurich, and could even start ahead of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka or Granit Xhaka. As Arteta touched on, the Portugal Under-21s international offers plenty of versatility which allows him to operate as a No.8, No.10 and No.7.
Vieira was one of the most dangerous players in the Primeira Liga last season, scoring seven goals and providing 16 assists in 39 appearances for FC Porto.
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