Arsenal sent clear message after 'competitive' offer: 'We're fighting for him'

Updated: 22 Jul 2026 16:36 BST | 4 min read

Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

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Hamburger SV are still "fighting" to sign Arsenal midfielder Fabio Vieira despite a sizeable gap in valuation.

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The 26-year-old is surplus to requirements in North London. After spending 2024/25 back at his former club Porto, Vieira was loaned to Hamburg last term, where he managed to really impress despite a slow start.

The tidy midfielder played a crucial role in HSV comfortably securing their survival after returning to the Bundesliga for the first time in more than half a decade. Vieira notched seven goals and five assists in 29 league outings in 2025/26.

Current ETV

Fábio Vieira

M (CR)

Arsenal

Fábio Vieira

M (CR)

Arsenal

ETV Range

€13.3M - €16.3M

HSV's signing of Vieira was seen as a real coup last year, and they even managed to agree a purchase option with Arsenal. However, the fee stipulated as part of the deal was a whopping €20 million, a figure the club couldn't pay even in their wildest dreams.

As a result, Vieira is now back at Arsenal. But there is no future for him at the Emirates, and HSV have been in touch with the Gunners for months in a bid to get them to lower their asking price.

HSV still fighting for Vieira

So far, Arsenal have shown no interest in offering any discounts for the 26-year-old. They believe that Vieira is worth more than €20m, while HSV are only able to offer a fee in the region of €10m.

There is confidence at Arsenal that a suitor will eventually come forward and match their asking price, but this hasn't happened to date, so HSV retain hope of striking a deal.

According to board member Eric Huwer, the German club are still "fighting" to bring the midfielder back to the club. "Fabio is a fantastic player, and we feel like we’re fighting for him every single day," he told supporters on Tuesday.

"We’ve also backed up our interest with Arsenal with financial figures; the situation is well-known. But right now, no one’s flinching. We’re confident we can make Fabio a very competitive offer within our means, without taking on any debt."

"We’re naturally very curious to see whether he and Arsenal will accept it," Huwer added. "We fell a little bit in love with Fabio last year, but we’re not going to be unreasonable. If Arsenal says yes, we’ll be happy to have Fabio; if they say no, we’ll be happy to have someone else."

Viera, for his part, has already indicated that he would be open to staying at HSV, but he is not desperately pushing to return. "I have to be open to everything," he said in May.

"Let's see what happens. No matter what the future brings, I was very happy here and will be forever grateful to HSV. The club did everything for me, the support was amazing. I feel the love of the fans and the club. They all love me."