Fabio Vieira showing attribute that will have Arsenal fans thrilled
Robin Bairner
- 20 Aug 2022 04:45 CDT
- 3 min read
Arsenal summer signing Fabio Vieira has yet to make his official debut for the club, but the 22-year-old Portugal U21 international is still showing signs of being a valuable addition to Mikel Arteta’s squad.
There has been much debate over how the 22-year-old might be used at Arsenal following a period at Porto where he was nomadic on the field.
A hint towards the answer to this lies in the club’s use of him in an Under-21 match against Swansea on Wednesday. It was a fixture that the young Gunners won 2-1, but what was perhaps most important about the game was the manner in which Vieira was utilised by U21 head coach Mehmet Ali.
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He was deployed on the right side of the pitch under orders from Mikel Arteta, who clearly believes that there could be a future for him as an inverted winger.
“I thought he mixed it up really well and that’s what we wanted from him, to cause problems himself, to create chances and obviously he could have scored as well,” Ali told football.london after the midweek success.
Fabio Vieira (#7) & Emile Smith Rowe (#10) link-up. 🤌 #afc pic.twitter.com/3e8DKbrH0n
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) August 17, 2022
Vieira’s versatility precious
Although Arsenal are still chasing a wide attacker in the transfer window, having a player who is capable of playing in this role is precious for the Emirates club as it shows he can plug any gap that emerges.
Furthermore, this is something that Arteta wants to see in the player.
“We are already trying him in different positions in training, and he’s played on the left, right, as a false nine and an attacking midfielder, so it’s good. He doesn’t want to be locked in any one position, because he’s so used to it, and that’s a really positive thing for us,” the manager said ahead of the victory over Leicester.
Having a player who can happily fulfil a myriad of roles is great news for Arsenal, particularly as Vieira is used to doing so and clearly has the capacity to adapt on a weekly basis.
He may not be as exciting a summer signing as Gabriel Jesus or Oleksandr Zinchenko, but this is a hint that he could become just as important.
Read more about: Arsenal, Fábio Vieira
