FC Porto have confirmed that they have agreed to sell Fabio Vieira to Arsenal for an initial €35m fee.

Reports of the Gunners’ interest in the attacking midfielder first emerged earlier this week and things have progressed swiftly since then.

The Liga NOS side confirmed that the Gunners have agreed to sign the 22-year-old for a fee of £34 million, a figure which includes a potential £5 million in add-ons. The young creative midfielder scored six goals and registered 14 assists in 27 appearances for FC Porto last season, of which just 15 of those were starts.

Porto released a statement on Friday, which read: “Deal complete for the amount of €40m, and of these, €5m are dependent on the achievement of sports objectives”.

So, with Vieira on the way to Arsenal this summer, what sort of impact could he have on Arteta’s side? Could the Portuguese playmaker help the Gunners qualify for the Champions League?

Vieira is already in London, having arrived on Thursday night, and Fabrizio Romano reports that his medical was scheduled for Friday morning.

Portuguese journalist Pedro Sepulveda, who originally broke the story, adds that Vieira will earn €130,000 net per month, which is a gross weekly wage of roughly £46,000.

Romano claims the player accepted Arsenal’s offer “immediately”, as he’s excited for the opportunity.

As for the €5m add-on portion of the transfer fee, Sepulveda reports that the add-on clauses will be activated when Vieira hits certain appearance targets and if Arsenal qualify for the Champions League.

Ryan Taylor of the Daily Express reports that the plan is for Arsenal to announce the deal by Sunday, but it could even come sooner given the speed at which everything is progressing and the fact Porto have now confirmed it.

The Athletic write that Mikel Arteta has driven the deal, expressing his admiration of the playmaker for months.

The Portugal u21 international also scored seven goals and assisted two in eight games for his national team’s youth side over the same period, after winning Player of the Tournament at the u21 Euros last summer.

Capable of playing in various positions, from attacking midfield to false nine to central midfield, the left-footed prospect should add a lot of creativity and more than a few goals to Arteta’s side.

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