But it’s not just about the people he interacts with at London Colney on a daily basis. The Arsenal supporters have made Fabio feel welcome at Emirates Stadium as he gets them off their seats with moments of magic like that sumptuous delivery for Eddie Nketiah against Fulham earlier this season.
After coming off of the bench in the second half when we were 1-0 down, Fabio won the penalty scored by Bukayo Saka before putting the ball on a plate for Eddie to give us the lead.
“From the moment I signed at Arsenal, I’ve heard from players and staff that the team and supporters are very close,” he said. “They’re always there to support you. The supporters in general need to be there for you in the bad moments because this makes our team better. Everyone needs to be on the same side and push for the same side. When you have all of this, it’s much better.
“Here we have a lot of big teams with a lot of qualities. It’s very difficult to compete with them. When you are here one or two years and start to play and learn and understand everything, things will be better.”
As far as free time goes, Fabio understands the importance of taking time away from football to unwind and relax with family and friends.
“Sometimes we go out and spend time together,” he said. “It’s important as well because you can’t be always focused just on football and you need to spend your time with friends and relax.
“I just live here with my girlfriend but it’s easy for my family to come here or I go to Portugal. It’s two hours on the plane and they are always here to support me and be here with me and my girlfriend. You need your family close to you.”
With a baby on the way, much of that free time is about to change.
“I’m very excited,” he said, on becoming a father. “There are a few months left so everything is ready for him and I can’t wait to meet him. He’s my life.”