It looks like Fabio Vieira is close to getting only his second start of the season in the Premier League.
The Portuguese attacking midfielder joined Arsenal last summer from FC Porto. The Gunners paid Vieira’s release clause which was worth around £40million. Vieira has mostly featured in Europa League matches so far this season, where he played in all six group stage games, scoring one goal & grabbing one assist.
However in the Premier League, Vieira has started only one game this season, away at Brentford. Of course, Martin Ødegaard’s fantastic form has meant that the Norwegian is basically undroppable so Vieira has had to wait for his chances in the league, which have mainly come off the bench.
However Vieira’s last couple of performances from the bench are starting to give Mikel Arteta headaches over his starting eleven. When asked about Vieira and his potential inclusion in the starting eleven, the boss said:
“He’s [Vieira] very close. He is starting to give me big headaches because I see every single day what he is capable of doing. A tremendous player.
He now understands exactly what we want and physically he is a condition to compete at the right level in this league. He brings qualities that we don’t have in the squad. Very eager to give him more.”
Mikel Arteta has been cautious to rush Fabio Vieira into the side while he’s still adapting physically to the toughest league in the world. However the quote previously mentioned would suggest the Portuguese midfielder is now nearly at the level to compete & we should expect Fabio Vieira to get more chances in the league in the near future.
Vieira so far has recorded one goal and two assists in 14 matches this season, however in only two games he played over 70 minutes.
The 22-year-old could have a big part to play for Arsenal during the second-half of the season.
