After years in the wilderness of midtable mediocrity, Arsenal are back near the top of English football, and while they may not lift the title this season, it's starting to feel like an inevitability.
Mikel Arteta has taken a team that looked hopeless and lost in December 2019 to one that can genuinely take on any team in Europe, as demonstrated by their clashes with last season's treble-winners Manchester City this year.
The Spaniard's tactics and philosophy have been a significant reason behind the club's resurgence in the last few years, but another vital component has been his talented identification and the signings made under his watch.
However, while there have been plenty of successes, like Martin Odegaard, Gabriel, and Declan Rice, there have also been a few duds. One in particular, a player who is only worth twice as much as Jorginho, should be moved on in the summer before his value further craters.
Fabio Vieira's Arsenal career
The player in question is Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira, who joined Arteta's Arsenal in June 2022 for a fairly hefty fee of around £34m off the back of an impressive season for Porto in his home country.
That year, the Santa Maria da Feira-born gem scored seven goals and provided 16 assists in 39 appearances – 21 of which were starts – meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.6 games, so there was clearly a talented player there.
However, in his first campaign with the Gunners, the 23-year-old ace managed a fairly paltry return of just two goals and six assists in 33 appearances, but given it was his first season in English football, most fans and pundits gave him the benefit of the doubt.
Unfortunately, his second year at the Emirates has been a disaster.
So far, the 5 foot 7 midfielder has made just three starts and 13 substitute appearances for the north Londoners in 23/24, in which he has scored one goal, provided three assists, received one red card, and missed 20 games through injuries.
Season
21/22
22/23
23/24
Appearances
39
33
16
Goals
7
2
1
Assists
16
6
3
Goal Involvements per Match
0.58
0.24
0.25
There is always a strong chance that he could well come good in his third season with the club, but based on his lacklustre performances and plunging valuation, it might just be time for the club to cash in and move on – following reports back in January that he was attracting interest from afar.
Fabio Vieira's valuation in 2024
According to the CIES Football Observatory, Vieira is currently worth just €10m, which is about £9m, or a shocking £25m less than the Gunners paid for him just two years ago.
His new valuation also means he's now the second least valuable player among those who joined the club in the 22/23 season who are present today.
The only player from that group worth less than the Portuguese ace is former Chelsea star Jorginho, who, by all accounts, has been a brilliant signing for the Gunners.
1
Gabriel Jesus
€80m (£69m)
£45m
LW/ST
2
Leandro Trossard
€40m (£34m)
£27m
LW/ST
3
Jakub Kiwior
€30m (£26m)
£20m
LB/CB
4
Oleksandr Zinchenko
€20m (£17m)
£32m
LB
5
Fabio Vieira
€10m (£9m)
£34m
AM/RW/LW
6
Jorginho
€5m (£4m)
£12m
DM/CM
The Italian international is currently valued at just €5m – £4m – by the CIES Football Observatory. However, this low figure is almost certainly due to his age and lack of any real resale value as a result, as the Imbituba-born veteran has been excellent when it comes to performances.
For example, this season, he won the Man of the Match awards against Liverpool and Newcastle United and has been such an integral part of Arteta's squad that he just signed a brand-new deal that is set to keep him in N5 past the July end date of his previous contract.
Ultimately, with Vieira having a valuation just two times higher than that of a 32-year-old Jorginho and looking unremarkable for the two seasons he's been at the club, it might be time for Arsenal to cut their losses and move him on before he ends up being worth less than the Italian.
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