Piero Hincapie arrival the highlight of Arsenal’s deadline day dealings

Arsenal have strengthened their backline by signing Piero Hincapie on an initial season-long loan from Bayer Leverkusen.

The deal for the Ecuador international includes the obligation for a permanent switch at the end of this campaign “if certain conditions are met”, Leverkusen announced.

Hincapie made 166 appearances in all competitions for Leverkusen after joining them four years ago and helped them to a first-ever Bundesliga title and DFB-Pokal crown in a historic 2023-24 campaign.

Primarily a centre-half who can also fill in at left-back, the 23-year-old is Arsenal’s eighth summer signing and has paved the way for Jakub Kiwior to join Porto on loan for the rest of the season.

“We are so pleased to welcome Piero Hincapie to the club,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta said on the club’s official website.

“Piero has a real physical presence, with his versatility and tactical flexibility giving us strong added defensive options.

“He is a big character, with a very good combination of both youth and maturity. He will make our squad stronger and more competitive as we continue into this season.”

William Saliba and Gabriel have been Arteta’s first-choice pairing at the heart of Arsenal’s defence in their first three Premier League games, with Cristhian Mosquera acting as back-up.

Mosquera was called into action after just five minutes in Sunday’s defeat by title rivals Liverpool, with Saliba withdrawn because of a twisted ankle he sustained in the warm-up at Anfield.

But in Hincapie they have a defender who has Champions League experience and has been capped 46 times by his country.

“He is an intelligent defender with real strength and versatility,” Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta said.

“His performances in recent years for both club and country have been of a consistent high quality, and we are confident Piero will continue to grow this season and be an important player for us.”

Meanwhile, Fabio Vieira has joined Hamburg on a season-long loan, having fallen out of contention since making 33 appearances in his debut campaign after joining from Porto for a £34million fee in June 2022.

He has featured just another 16 times since then – although he scored the winning penalty in Arsenal’s 2023 Community Shield triumph – and spent last season back at Porto on loan.

Vieira will be joined in northern Germany by fellow midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga, who has completed a permanent switch to the Volksparkstadion after four years and 39 appearances with the Gunners.

Full-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, who moved to Arsenal for £30m from Manchester City three years ago, and winger Reiss Nelson have joined Nottingham Forest and Brentford respectively on season-long loans.