Arsenal star Fabio Vieira has described his time in North London as “difficult” having secured a move back to FC Porto with the Gunners set to decide the midfielder’s future in 2025.
The Portuguese star arrived at the Emirates Stadium during the summer of 2022 as part of a £34m deal with Porto, however, amongst high hopes for the midfielder, he failed to cement a regular starting spot in Mikel Arteta’s team.
Vieira has been a rotation player across the 49 games he has featured in for the North London outfit so far and Arsenal decided that it would be best if the 24-year-old went out on loan for the current season to gain more experience in order to try and progress with the Premier League club.
The former Porto star returned to the Portuguese giants but there is no option to buy clause in his loan deal, reports Fabrizio Romano. The transfer journalist states that Arsenal want to assess the 24-year-old’s situation in 2025, which is the reason for a buy option not being included.
The current campaign is a big one for Vieira in order to impress Arteta as the midfielder received just 561 minutes of action last season, although the player did miss a large chunk of the campaign with a groin injury.
Vieira has now opened up about his spell with the Premier League club and admits that it was a “difficult time” during his short career.
Fabio Vieira opens up about his time at Arsenal
Speaking to the Portuguese sports paper O Jogo, Vieira has described his time at Arsenal as “difficult” and is looking forward to developing his game further at Porto this season.
“The idea of returning came from me. I love this club and I’m going to give everything on the pitch,” the midfielder said via The Standard. “I’m happy, obviously, it’s my home. I’m looking forward to being at the stadium, playing in front of these fans and doing the best I can for this club this season.
“It was a chance that, above all, came to me because it was something I already wanted: to play. I had a difficult time in England, an operation, and at this moment I felt that FC Porto was a good opportunity to continue growing and developing.
“I felt that this was the right place to do it this season.”
