Mikel Arteta may have just suggested that £34m player will never play for Arsenal again

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is usually very coy in his press conferences.

The Spaniard has been at the helm at the Emirates Stadium for almost five years now, and he has always kept things very close to his chest.

Be it injuries, transfer talk or even the future of some of his players, he never seems to give anything away in front of the media.

However, Arteta may have just admitted that one Arsenal player’s future is as good as over.

Mikel Arteta explains why Arsenal loaned out Fabio Vieira

Arsenal signed Fabio Vieira in a £34 million deal back in the summer of 2022.

The versatile Portuguese star was viewed as a backup for Martin Odegaard, but he had the skill to play on the right flank as well as in a number eight role.

Vieira made 49 appearances for Arsenal in all competitions over the last two seasons, but just 17 of those came from the start.

Earlier this summer, Arteta decided to loan Vieira out to Porto. That came as a big surprise as Emile Smith Rowe was allowed to leave Arsenal too.

Now, Arteta has revealed the real reason why Vieira was moved on, and this suggests that the midfielder has no future at the Emirates.

Speaking in his press conference ahead of the game against Fulham, Arteta was asked if he had any regrets about the lack of depth in the number 10 role after allowing Smith Rowe to leave.

The Arsenal boss replied, as relayed on HaytersTV: “No, no, no! We allowed Fabio to go as well because we wanted to create the room and the space for Ethan [Nwaneri].

“He has given us every reason to trust him. He’s shown that he’s ready to make the next step and it’s great to have him.”

Arteta’s comments suggest that Fabio Vieira’s Arsenal career is over 

Vieira is a very talented player and can be a star for many teams.

However, the 24-year-old was always going to be behind Odegaard at Arsenal, and Arteta’s comments make it clear now that Nwaneri is ahead of him too.

When Vieira returns from his loan spell next summer, both Odegaard and Nwaneri are still going to be at the club, so there is no space for the Porto man.

Reports have already claimed that Arsenal will listen to offers for Vieira, and Arteta’s comments now hint that he is no longer in his plans and will most likely never play for the club again.

It’s a shame that things have not worked out for Vieira. Hopefully, he’ll have a great few months at Porto and help Arsenal get a good fee for him in the summer.