According to The Times, Arsenal fans have Liverpool to thank for the speed in which Fabio Vieira was signed by Mikel Arteta and Edu.
What’s the story?
Well, The Times believe Arsenal moved quickly to sign the 22-year-old after seeing what happened to Tottenham in January.
During the winter, Spurs came close to signing Luis Diaz, with a deal agreed between the north Londoners and Porto.
However, after Liverpool heard about this, Jürgen Klopp swooped in to make his own £37m offer for the Colombia international, who opted for a move to Merseyside over a switch to N17.
It was said that Daniel Levy was left furious after missing out on Diaz.
The Times mention that Liverpool were also interested in Vieira, hence why Arsenal moved quickly – and quietly – to bring the Portuguese playmaker to the Premier League.
A £34m deal has now been agreed, and the youngster will earn £46,000-a-week at the Emirates Stadium.
It comes after Vieira made 39 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring seven goals while also providing 16 assists – a very impressive return, to say the least.
Arsenal & Liverpool are stealthy operators
For the Arsenal and Liverpool fans who love hearing transfer leaks and gossip, things aren’t looking good.
In recent times, very few leaks emerge from the Gunners and the Reds, as they both go about their business in very sneaky fashion.
For example, the Vieira deal came out of nowhere, and was announced by Porto within a matter of days.
In Liverpool’s case, they often pull rabbits out of the hat as well, such as the recent deal for Darwin Nunez, which was again agreed within a few days.
As seen in the Vieira deal, it can help to be quiet about your business, in order for rivals to not hijack the deal.
Of course, that can be pretty boring for supporters refreshing their transfer blogs all day, but in the grand scheme of things, we expect more clubs to keep their transfer news watertight from now on.
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