Arsenal are on the verge of landing their first major summer signing with the capture of rising Porto star Fabio Vieira.
The attacking midfielder could join the Gunners as soon as Friday in a £30million deal having cut short his holiday to the Greek Island of Mykonos to fly to London and complete a move.
But who is the Portuguese star hoping to push Arsenal towards a top four spot next season? Sportsmail looks at the background of Vieira and the benefits he could bring to Mikel Arteta‘s side.
Arsenal are closing in on the £30million signing of attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira from Porto
Who is Fabio Vieira?
Hopefully for Arsenal, their key arrival this summer to help fire them into the Champions League next term.
The attacking midfielder has impressed for Porto as well as for the Portugal Under 21 team where he has been lethal in netting 13 goals from 21 caps.
Standing at 5ft 7in he has been at the Portuguese giants since he was eight years old and over the last three seasons has steadily established himself into the first-team picture, helping them win the title last term.
His most recent campaign for the club was the best yet, featuring in the Champions League and playing 39 times across all competitions, scoring seven goals and providing an impressive 16 assists.
Last summer he was named player of the tournament at the Under 21 European Championship.
Vieira was influential in helping Porto win the league title last season – graphic from SofaScore
How well suited is he to the Premier League?
You never know for sure with any continental signing but while there are concerns there are plenty of reasons why Gunners supporters should be excited by his arrival.
The nimble midfielder has an eye for a pass but is also cool under pressure, possessing the ball control to dribble his way out of a press before picking out a team-mate in space. It could come in handy especially against pressing monsters among their big-six rivals such as Liverpool.
In fact the Reds have already been stung by Vieira in last season’s Champions League, as he created an assist albeit in a 5-1 group stage defeat.
The trade-off for this though may come in his physicality and he may have to improve his strength to tackle the Premier League’s most demanding defenders.
He also provided an assist against Liverpool in the Champions League group stage
Where would he fit in Mikel Arteta’s system?
With Arsenal set to deploy a 4-3-3, Vieira can play as high as a No 10 but would…