Arsenal managed to offload out-of-favour midfielder Fabio Vieira by the skin of their teeth at the end of the summer transfer window.
The Portuguese was once tipped for a big future by manager Mikel Arteta, after former sporting director Edu orchestrated a £34 million deal to sign Vieira from FC Porto in 2022.
Kepa Arrizabalaga
£5m
Martin Zubimendi
£60m
Christian Norgaard
£15m
Noni Madueke
£52m
Cristhian Mosquera
£13m
Viktor Gyokeres
£55m
Eberechi Eze
£67.5m
Piero Hincapie
Loan
“I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent,” said Arteta about Vieira at the time.
“Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play.”
However, while the 25-year-old came to north London with plenty of promise, things didn’t quite go to plan.
Vieira failed to play his way into Arteta’s plans, making 19 of his 22 Premier League appearances off the bench during his debut campaign, even if he did impress at times with a goal and two assists in eight Europa League starts that year.
His game time was even more limited in 2023/2024, thanks partly to groin surgery. Vieira started just two top flight matches all season, and it soon became apparent that the playmaker wasn’t at Arsenal’s required level for their quest to become English champions.
Vieira was sent back on loan to Porto in 2024/2025, where he managed to impress in parts with eight goal contributions in 26 league appearances.
However, it was nowhere near the kind of form which originally prompted Arsenal to splash the cash on him, with the player’s best season to date still that exceptional 21/22 season in the Primeira Liga.
Vieira racked up six goals and 14 assists in the top flight alone that year, and he’s now been given another chance to rediscover that level of quality on another loan spell at newly-promoted Hamburg in the Bundesliga.
In a last-minute summer deal, Arsenal managed to agree a loan exit with Hamburg for Vieira, and the versatile creative ace once very similar to club captain Martin Odegaard is now in danger of becoming a real waste of club funds.
Vieira’s Arsenal contract expires in 2027, but luckily for the Gunners, sporting director Andrea Berta made sure there was a way to make some money back off him in 2026.
Arsenal could be set for record-breaking Fabio Vieira windfall after news
According to German news outlet BILD, Hamburg’s deal for Vieira includes an option to buy worth £17 million, and if activated, it would break a record.
Indeed, Vieira could become Hamburg’s most expensive signing in history, but the caveat is that Merlin Polzin’s side might not have to pay their £346,000 loan fee if he becomes a regular starter for them.
In any case, Arsenal could still recuperate half of the transfer fee they paid for Vieira, but it depends on Hamburg making a big decision. The deadline for Polzin and co to take up his £17 million buy option is the middle of May in 2026, right after the end of the Bundesliga season, and Arsenal will be hoping he can impress in the meantime.
“He was born for football,” Al Fateh manager Jose Gomes said earlier this year.
“He has vision, quick thinking in reading his teammates’ and opponents’ movements, and then there’s his fabulous left foot. He can solve problems with his quality. That’s what intelligent and technically gifted players like him do.”
