What happened to £34m Arsenal star Mikel Arteta?

The Evolution of Arsenal’s Transfer Strategy

Before Mikel Arteta made a clear shift towards signing physically strong players who thrive in duels, the Arsenal manager followed the precedent set by Arsene Wenger in the transfer market. This approach had long been associated with Arsenal's style of play, focusing on technical and creative players rather than those who relied on physicality.

The summer of 2022 is largely recognized as the transfer window where Arsenal took a step up to become the Premier League title contenders we see today. Two players were credited with the Gunners’ transformation—former Manchester City stars Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko. However, another signing in the form of Fabio Vieira, arriving in a £34 million deal from Porto in June 2022, also fit the mold of slight technical players long associated with Arsenal. Yet, even then, Portuguese playmaker Vieira stood out among his teammates and other Premier League stars with his slender frame.

A Challenging Start at Arsenal

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An initial bedding-in period was expected given the fast-paced nature of the league compared to the Portuguese Primeira Liga, where he had managed six goals and 14 assists prior to his move. Having signed a five-year deal at the Emirates, a foot injury kept Vieira out of the first few games of the season before he observed the following matches from the bench.

He made his debut in the league defeat away at Manchester United but made his full debut against Brentford in September, where he also scored his first goal for the Gunners. The bulk of his appearances for the rest of the season came off the bench, however, while Jesus and Zinchenko were deemed irreplaceable.

Struggles Under Arteta’s Management

By January 2023, it was clear Arteta did not see Vieira as a starter, leading pundit Gary Neville to say the Spaniard didn’t have faith in his summer signing after he remained an unused substitute in a 0-0 home draw against Newcastle—a game which on paper could have benefited from Vieira’s ability to unlock defenses with his intricate passing and vision.

Neville addressed the situation while on commentary for Sky Sports, saying: "Arteta, he looks at £34 million Vieira on his bench and doesn’t bring him on, so he doesn’t have faith that he’s going to improve the team that was out there. Fabio Vieira cost £34 million. Mikel obviously thought he would’ve weakened the side by bringing him on. They do rely on the perfect pass and the thread, they haven’t got full-backs that deliver really good crosses, they haven’t got a midfield player that switches play or plays De Bruyne-style crosses."

Vieira ended his first season in north London with just two assists and a single goal across 501 minutes of league action, with four more assists coming in the cup competitions, where he played 670 minutes of football.

A Shift in Position and Limited Opportunities

By the start of the 2023/24 season, it appeared Arteta was no longer considering the Portuguese as a midfielder, instead playing him out on the right wing as a backup option. He enjoyed even fewer minutes in his second campaign.

Arteta was visibly frustrated after Vieira was sent off for a dangerous challenge against Burnley after coming off the bench in November 2023. Following his three-game suspension, a groin injury kept him out for several months, after which he only played a further 54 minutes of football that season.

It was clear by that point in 2024 that Vieira did not meet the physical demands of an Arteta side, made clearer by the manager’s reliance on players such as Declan Rice and Kai Havertz in midfield. In the summer, Vieira was desperate to leave in search of more game time and a loan move was agreed with his previous side Porto until the end of the 2024/25 season.

Rebuilding His Career

It took a while for the creative midfielder to find his groove again at his old club but he finished the season strongly and notched 11 goal involvements in 42 appearances.

With Vieira widely believed to have no future at the club last summer, he was reportedly listed for sale by Arsenal when he returned from his loan, though it’s understood that no clubs were willing to offer a sum deemed reasonable for a player with two years still left on his deal.

In the end, Arsenal settled for an agreement with newly-promoted Bundesliga side Hamburger SV, sending Vieira out on loan again until the end of the current season. In his third Bundesliga appearance, Vieira received a straight sending off against Union Berlin. He was sent off again in his second game back from suspension against FC Koln, this time for a second yellow card. He has since returned to form with two assists and a goal in his last four appearances.

Vieira is likely to be on his way out in the summer of 2026. Should any suitable clubs approach Arsenal with an offer, his career in English football will come to a disappointing end, having fizzled out before he was ever truly able to leave a mark beyond the odd flashes of creative brilliance.