As we highlighted numerous times this summer, Arteta had one goal in mind; to remodel his midfield in the hopes of ultimately bringing Premier League glory to the Emirates.
In order to unleash a better midfield next season, the Spaniard has been willing to let some of his stalwart midfielders go; Granit Xhaka has left, and Thomas Partey is rumoured to be departing as well. With the departure of the two, one might look at Arsenal’s midfield last season and wonder, “If Partey and Xhaka are leaving, what about someone like Fabio Vieira?”
After joining Arsenal for £34 million from FC Porto, Vieira struggled to make an impact. He departed the Portuguese side as the assist king (after a run of 14 assists in 27 games in the 2021–22 season), but he failed to live up to the reputation.
Some may have asked why there hasn’t been talk of Vieira leaving, if not permanently on loan, after Arteta’s willingness to let Xhaka and Partey leave. All indications point to Vieira, like Emile Smith-Rowe, staying Arteta must have seen something in Portuguese and hopes to get him to show it to us next season.
Many people forget that Vieira was healing from an injury at the time he joined Arsenal; he didn’t have a perfect pre-season, and last season he was still adjusting to the toughness of the PL and adapting to his new environment.
Arteta, back in March, after the Portuguese dazzled against Sporting Lisbon, revealed Vieira is a player he admires and believes needs to play more, saying: “Really happy with him. I think he deserves more minutes than he’s had, especially in the last two months.
“Obviously he had a difficult start because we injured for two months after a surgery and wasn’t at the level that we want. You saw tonight he was probably our most dangerous player. He was always making things happen. He’s a player that I absolutely love.”
Vieira will most likely play more next season. I’m hoping he can live up to his hype and have a breakout season next season. Declan Rice, Kai Havertz, and Martin Odegaard may be Arteta’s first-choice midfielders next season, but with Arsenal competing in so many leagues, there will be room to rotate, and that’s where Vieira comes in, and hopefully can show the qualities that Arteta saw in him at Porto….
Sam P
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