Arsenal continue to trim fat as Fabio Vieira ‘agrees £8.5m transfer exit’ after over 2 years without Premier League game

ARSENAL are finally set to sell big-money flop Fabio Vieira – more than two years after his last Premier League game. Vieira, 26, is closing in on a return to Hamburg, where he spent last season on loan, reports say. Arsenal are close to selling flop Fabio Vieira Credit: Getty He joins Gabriel Jesus in departing the club this window Credit: Getty And the German club will pay just £8.5million for him, four times less than Arsenal splashed out in 2022 to Porto. Midfielder Vieira has only made 49 appearances for the Gunners since arriving. Sign up for the Arsenal newsletter Thank you! But he never settled under Mikel Arteta despite joining with serious hopes of being a Prem star. Instead, Vieira was back at Porto after two seasons and then went to Hamburg last summer. He was a regular for the Bundesliga side and played 29 times, scoring seven with five assists. And Hamburg boss Merlin Polzin admitted earlier this week that the club were trying to get him on a permanent deal. He said: “Fabio provided us with so many great moments last season. “He’s an outstanding player. Plus, he’s the kind of guy who fit perfectly into the team and brings something really special to the table. Most read in Sport BEST ONLINE CASINOS – TOP SITES IN THE UK “No matter how realistic it might be – for me, as a fan who likes to be a bit naive and not overthink things you can’t control, it would be a huge boost if he came back. “It’s our duty to give it our all. Claus [Costa, director of football] and his team are doing just that. And then we’ll see what happens between now and Tuesday [deadline day].” SunSport reported earlier this year that Vieira was keen to go back to Hamburg. Vieira last featured in a Prem game in April 2024 as a late sub in a 5-0 battering of Chelsea at the Emirates. He missed most of his final season in the first-team squad through injury. For Arsenal, it continues their late window outgoings and the undoing of that 2022 summer window. Oleksandr Zinchenko is long gone and both Matt Turner and Marquinhos left ages ago. Gabriel Jesus has now agreed a surprise exit to Barcelona. And fellow Brazilian Gabriel Martinelli is on his way to Saudi Arabia. Arteta and chief Andrea Berta are also working on another attacking addition with Julian Alvarez the top, but unlikely, target. Comment now