Arsenal loanee set for 1st start in almost a month | OneFootball

Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira is set to return to the FC Porto starting lineup for the first time in almost a month, following a strong substitute performance last time out.

Photo via Porto on Twitter

Portuguese outlet A Bola report in their print edition on Sunday, January 19th that after almost a month out of the Porto starting lineup, Fabio Vieira is set for an opportunity in the eleven when Vitor Bruno’s team travel to face Gil Vicente this weekend.

After settling in with Porto and bagging a few goals and assists, Vieira was dropped from the squad in somewhat surprising circumstances towards the end of December.

At the time, Arsenal have suffered a couple of first-team injuries, and there was even speculation that they might be looking to recall Vieira. But Porto boss Bruno confirmed that it was a decision based on “certain principles”, implying that Vieira wasn’t meeting his standards behind the scenes.

Photo via Porto on Twitter

The Porto manager added that Vieira would be available again in their next game, and true to his word, he included the Arsenal loanee in subsequent matches against Sporting CP and Nacional.

But in both cases, Vieira only featured as a substitute, meaning his last start for Porto was on December 21st, 2024.

The Nacional fixture perhaps pushed Bruno to reintegrate the loanee, as Porto struggled badly in the first half and went 2-0 down before Vieira came on and created a game-high five chances.

Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images

Whether it was that performance or his work in training, it looks as though the player has now convinced his manager to give him another chance.

Vieira has made 19 appearances for Porto overall, including 11 starts. He’s scored two goals and assisted two more so far.