Arsenal expert Charles Watts has told Sports Mole that he would lean towards selling Fabio Vieira this summer, despite the Gunners' need for creativity and the Portuguese's strong displays on loan at Porto.
The playmaker returned to the Estadio do Dragao during the most recent summer transfer window and is now hitting a rich vein of form, finding the back of the net in each of his last three matches in the Primeira Liga.
Vieira's contributions have helped Porto just about stay in the title race as they lie third in the Primeira Liga rankings, nine points below leaders Sporting Lisbon, and Watts is pleased to see that the 24-year-old has been able to turn his fortunes around in his homeland.
"It's good," Watts told Sports Mole. "Three goals and two assists (check) in his last five games, scored in his last three in a row over there, which is good because it has been a slow start for him. The injury issues, there was disciplinary stuff that the Porto manager went public with and wasn't too impressed with.
"At that point, you're like, it's going to be a wasted season for Fabio Vieira. So it's good that he seems to be finding some form and becoming a key player in that team. They're still just about in the title race as well, so he could still have a major say on that.
"He's a really talented player. You want to see him performing well, scoring some goals and making a bit of a difference in the final third. This is what we want to see from him, this is what Arsenal want to see from him, because Arsenal have got big decisions to make come the summer.
Watts: 'Arsenal have a big decision to make on Vieira'
"It's one they haven't taken yet because you look at some of the loan deals they've done, they've all had obligations or options to buy, that's not the case for Fabio Vieira. Does he come back? Does he try to get back into the squad or do they look to cash in? So that's all something that's going to be decided in the next few months.
"What Arsenal want to see from him now is finish the season as strongly as possible. That will give them a harder decision to make when it comes to whether to take him on pre-season and see what he's going to do, or maybe if he does do well, then they're going to get more of a decent value for him."
In the season before he joined Arsenal, Vieira registered 14 Primeira Liga assists in 2021-22 - more than any other player - and the 24-year-old hit the ground running in North London with a cracking long-range strike in a 3-0 win over Brentford in September 2022.
However, Vieira has since only managed another two goals and nine assists in 49 games for the Gunners, as he has been forced to play backup to Martin Odegaard in the number 10 position and Bukayo Saka on the right-hand side.
Saka's serious hamstring injury and Odegaard's struggles for form have seen Arsenal's creativity take a hit in recent weeks, though, as they are averaging just 1.62 Expected Goals (xG) per game this season compared to 2.06 in the 2023-24 campaign.
Watts has previously talked up the importance of Arsenal pursuing a new creative midfielder this summer, but he is unsure if Vieira can be the internal solution, adding: "He's not really shown yet that he can be, has he?
"Technically, he's very, very good, but there's always that question mark over whether he can handle the Premier League. He's one of those players that wouldn't surprise you if it suddenly did just click and he turns it on because, as I said, the flashes are there. It's just about doing it consistently.
Watts would "lean towards" selling Vieira
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"So I don't know is the answer to that. He's got the ability to open teams up and score goals because he's shown that already at Arsenal in flashes, but the consistency hasn't been there for it to be able to make a definitive answer on it.
"I would still lean towards no, and the most likely option is that he would go, but I couldn't rule it. If he came back, had a good pre-season and forced his way into Mikel Arteta's thinking, then I wouldn't be stunned at that either. Sitting on the fence with that one."
Vieira had been tentatively linked with the likes of Manchester United before Arsenal unexpectedly swooped to conclude a deal for the former Portugal Under-21 international, who lacked the physical profile to compete in England when he first arrived.
The Porto loanee has been making a concerted effort to bulk up in a bid to match the difficult demands of the Premier League, and he has shown brief moments of brilliance while also sealing a trophy win for the Gunners.
Vieira scored the final penalty in the 2023 Community Shield shootout win over Manchester City, but Watts worries that the midfielder simply just does not "enjoy" playing in England and may be better suited to a career in La Liga or the Primeira Liga.
Summing up Vieira's Arsenal career so far, Watts said: "I think he's been he's been underwhelming. It was one of those signers who was so out of the blue, which is very, very rare that it's just suddenly announced Arsenal have signed this player for £35 million.
'Vieira doesn't look like he enjoys the Premier League'
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"There was a lot of excitement about it because it was just a bit of an unknown thing. And you looked at the numbers of what he did in Portugal and you're like, 'wow,'. Is this Arsenal's Bernardo Silva type player?
"The Brentford goal, brilliant. He played really well that game. He had some good moments in those first few months. But then the physical side of things he was definitely struggling with. How do you assess it? I'd just say underwhelming, unfulfilled potential, right now.
"But I think most people still question whether he can come back and deal with the physical side of the Premier League, because he just doesn't look like he enjoys it when he's there and in the hustle and bustle in those central areas.
"He just looks like someone who might be better suited to the Portuguese, Spanish style of football - less physical, less aggressive - but we'll have to wait and see when he comes back."
Vieira has occupied both central and wide positions for Arsenal so far, and Mikel Arteta is currently lacking a recognised deputy for both Saka and Odegaard, barring 17-year-old Ethan Nwaneri.
The teenager has largely featured as Saka's replacement on the right-hand side since his compatriot tore his hamstring in December, but there is also the feeling that he could do a job in a central role, and Arsenal also have talented 15-year-old Max Dowman coming through.
Could Vieira resurrect Arsenal career in the left-eight role?
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Alternatively, Watts has questioned whether Vieira could be trialled in the left-eight position, a slot that Declan Rice has nailed down since joining from West Ham United and one that Oleksandr Zinchenko has also featured in in recent weeks.
However, Zinchenko might be allowed to leave in the summer transfer window, as will Thomas Partey and Jorginho, which could open the door for Vieira to play in the left eight role if Rice is forced to undertake more number six duties from time to time.
Asked where he feels Vieira's best position is, Watts replied: "I don't like him out wide. I much prefer him in the centre. I just don't think he's got what you need to be a winger in the Premier League. If I look at a way where he could force his way into the team, probably not as a starter, but makes impacts off the bench from time to time, it would be in one of those central areas.
"We know Odegaard's got that right-sided place nailed down at the moment. Nwaneri looks like he's another potential option. The left eight role, can he play there? I think he can. There's definitely an option for Arsenal to have a different type of player who can play in that position or you can bring off the bench and try and change the game, go a little bit more attacking in the second half.
"I still look at that as his best way of forcing his way into Mikel Arteta's thinking, that left-sided creative option. Different to Declan Rice, obviously, but one that I think Arsenal need in the squad still."
Vieira's Arsenal contract runs until the end of the 2026-27 campaign, and the Portuguese is on a weekly wage of circa £44,700 in North London, according to Capology.
Ben Knapton
