Fabio Vieira Arsenal recall plan confirmed after jet sparks transfer claims

Porto boss Vitor Bruno has denied claims that Fabio Vieira is set to be recalled by Arsenal.

Vieira returned to the Portuguese club on loan in the summer, making 17 appearances in all competitions so far. He had endured a difficult time away from Porto after joining the Gunners for £34million in the summer of 2022.

It was hoped that a return to his old club may help to revitalise his career. But the midfielder was surprisingly dropped from the squad entirely for Porto's thrashing of Boavista on Sunday.

That sparked suggestions that he could be returning to Arsenal in the January window, with some fans citing the fact a private jet departed from Porto on Sunday morning for London. But Bruno has now insisted he expects Vieira to stay for the duration of the campaign.

"I have to make decisions, pay close attention to the players' performance and how they view their day-to-day activities. Fábio is very talented, but talent has to be based on a series of assumptions," Bruno said after the win over Boavista.

"And when one or two of them ends up falling apart, it makes everything more difficult. He has immense potential and I have a large squad that offers me guarantees, I cannot give up on certain principles that are mine.

"I don't need to pass on any message. Fábio knows me well and we are counting on him. He will be available to play again next week. So it is a question of making decisions."

Rather than a recall, Vieira's exclusion from the squad is thought to be due to a timekeeping issue. According to A Bola, Vieira was late arriving for a training session during the week, which led to Bruno applying a disciplinary measure, in line with the club's internal regulations.

Vieira has helped Porto to overhaul early leaders Sporting Lisbon and emerge as the frontrunners to win the Primeira Liga. He has scored twice and assisted another two goals, with Bruno labelling him a 'genius' back in October.

“Fabio is Fabio, he is no longer a rookie, he has genius within him, that trait that is innate, but more important is everything else he has done," the Porto boss said earlier this season.

“What he has been doing for the past four or five years, he will continue to do well. The rest, he has done and has given very strong signals to me and the technical team, so that we can make decisions.”

With Arsenal well set in midfield, a recall for Vieira would not make much sense. He will instead likely be gearing up to travel to Nacional with Porto on Friday, should Bruno decided that his punishment has been served.