Arsenal surprise signing has been already confirmed

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta in the Emirates Stadium tunnel ahead of Arsenal vs Everton
(Image credit: Getty)

Arsenal have already tied up their surprise next move in the transfer market.

Last week, out of nowhere, rumours of the Gunners pouncing for Porto midfielder Fabio Vieira sprung out of nowhere. Youri Tielemans has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium – so the news of Vieira's arrival was not unexpected but completely out of the blue, with no prior whispers.

The 22-year-old has played as a No.10 for the Portuguese side, however, it's believed that he is the answer to Arsenal's conundrum at No.8, with Granit Xhaka unsuited to playing in such a roving role.

Fabio Vieira of FC Porto celebrates after scoring their side's first goal during the Liga Portugal Bwin match between FC Porto and SL Benfica at Estadio Do Dragao on December 30, 2021 in Porto, Portugal.

(Image credit: Getty)

Somewhat surprisingly, Porto have already confirmed the exit – before Arsenal have had the chance to announce him as their player.

In a statement, the two-time European champions affirmed that the midfielder will be exiting the club this summer – and that the north Londoners will pay around £34m for his services.

"The club informs the market that it has reached an agreement with Arsenal FC for the signing, on a permanent basis, of Fabio Vieira for the amount of €40 million," read a Porto statement.

Fabio Vieira of Portugal celebrates after scoring their team's first goal during the 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship Semi-finals match between Spain and Portugal at Stadion Ljudski vrt on June 03, 2021 in Maribor, Slovenia.

(Image credit: Getty)

Vieira was apparently wanted by Liverpool, according to the Express, before the Gunners made the quick move to sign him ahead of the Reds.

The Portuguese is valued at around £22m by Transfermarkt

More Arsenal stories

Arsenal are busy in the transfer market already – and have reportedly already tied up their first deal of the window according to reports. 

The search for a striker is ongoing. Gabriel Jesus is still a huge rumour, with the Gunners set to offer him a huge pay rise – though there may yet be stumbling blocksGianluca Scamacca remains the Plan B for Arsenal, though both Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and Juventus star Alvaro Morata have been touted

In midfield, Carney Chukuemeka of Aston Villa, long-term target Houssem AouarSerie A star Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Leicester City schemer Youri Tielemans are on the radar. The north Londoners apparently remain confident of convincing Bukayo Saka to stay, too. 

Mark White
Content Editor

Mark White is the Digital Content Editor at FourFourTwo. During his time on the brand, Mark has written three cover features on Mikel Arteta, Martin Odegaard and the Invincibles, and has written pieces on subjects ranging from Sir Bobby Robson’s time at Barcelona to the career of Robinho. An encyclopedia of football trivia and collector of shirts, he first joined the team back in 2020 as a staff writer.