Is it Fabio Vieira’s time to shine at Arsenal?
Should Mikel Arteta give Vieira a chance in the starting eleven?
Since signing for Arsenal in June 2022, Fabio Vieira has come under criticism from fans, journalists, and pundits for not being ready for the competitiveness and physicality of the Premier League. Having joined the Gunners from FC Porto for a fee of just under £35,000,000, many expected the Portugal youth international to hit the ground running but this didn’t happen. Whilst he did show glimpses of his potential at some points last season, he was largely disappointing at times. I’ve never been one to judge players from foreign leagues too quickly. I thought Nicolas Pepe was harshly treated after a lacklustre first season and was given the correct amount of time to adapt, despite it eventually not working out. I do think Vieira disappointed at times last season, but I am yet to sleep on him.
Vieira arrived at the club with an injury so was unavailable during the club’s brilliant 2022/23 pre-season. He made his debut in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford in September 2022, before making his first start against FC Zurich in the UEFA Europa League. Stepping in for an injured Martin Odegaard, Vieira made his first league start later that month in a match at Brentford. He scored a stunning long-range effort to round off a 3-0 win. He went on to score his second goal in another 3-0 win, this time against Bodo/Glimt at Emirates Stadium. Vieira’s next big chance came as a substitute for Granit Xhaka against Wolves. The Swiss went off sick inside twenty minutes so Vieira had time to make his mark. He proved his worth by assisting Odegaard’s first goal in an eventual 2-0 win. Despite these good performances prior to the World Cup, Vieira performed poorly for the remainder of the campaign.
Many fans, including myself, felt that it’d be best for Vieira to secure a loan move to another Premier League club this summer. This would have helped him have a consistent run of games to fully understand the league. However, it seems that Mikel Arteta decided to keep hold of the midfielder in order to boost his squad depth. He had a mixed pre-season, missing a penalty in the shootout against Manchester United before scoring a brilliant goal in a 5-3 win against FC Barcelona. He further improved his form by making a good cameo against Man City in the FA Community Shield, going onto score the winning penalty in the shootout. Having failed to make an appearance in the first two league matches, he came on against Fulham on Saturday. At 1-0 down, Vieira did well to win a penalty, which Bukayo Saka converted. He made a bigger impact by assisting Eddie Nketiah to give his side the lead two minutes later. Although the match finished 2-2, Vieira’s contribution can not be ignored.
Having seen Kai Havertz have a poor game in midfield, Vieira should be given a chance in that position. If Arteta is to continue his experiment with Thomas Partey at right back, Vieira should have his chance. He seems to have finally settled into this Arsenal team and the Premier League. Considering this, I feel that it is indeed Fabio Vieira’s time to shine with the Gunners needing to improve their performances if they are to challenge for the league title this campaign. I do think that he has shown enough in pre-season and his short appearances so far to at least warrant a chance in the starting eleven.
