Arsenal have a lingering £34million headache on their hands with Fabio Vieira. The Portuguese star has struggled to make a consistent impact at the Emirates Stadium since moving to the club in the summer of 2022 – and was particularly poor during the Gunner’s 3-1 loss to West Ham on Wednesday night.
In his maiden campaign, Vieira showed promising technical ability but appeared to lack the physicality needed to excel in England’s top flight. Following a productive pre-season that saw the 23-year-old add to this area of his game, Vieira got off to a decent start to the 2023/2024 campaign, impressing with early displays against Everton and Manchester United, in which he came on as a sub, in the league.
However, his performances have dropped off as of late which has led to him falling out of the starting XI picture again. Vieira was not picked for Arsenal’s trip to Stamford Bridge last month despite being fully fit.
This comes after Arteta insisted that he “loved” Vieira towards the back end of last season. “We’re really happy with him, I think he deserves more minutes than he’s had especially in the last two months,” Arteta said in March
“Obviously he had a difficult start because he was injured as soon as he joined so he required a bit of time to get back to the level that we want. You saw tonight he was one of our dangerous players, making things happen and he’s a player that I absolutely love.”
Yet it appears Arteta doesn’t quite know where Vieira fits into his system although the Spaniard is now more dependent on him in light of the news that Emile Smith-Rowe is out injured once again. ESR had jumped ahead of Vieira in the pecking order in recent weeks as a backup for Martin Odegaard, who has also experienced a dip in form in his last few games.
An in-form Vieira could be challenging for Odegaard’s place in the starting XI right now but instead, he is going missing in matches. Speaking to O Jogo earlier this year, Vieira admitted he found it difficult to adjust to life in England at the start but insists he is now “enjoying” his football.
“I got here injured,” he said. “It’s always different for a new player to get here, to a new country, a different culture, everything is different. It was difficult, but after a few months I’m ready, I’m enjoying it, I’ve developed a lot and I’m here to help the team. When you get injured, you’re always one step behind the others. I think it’s only a matter of time, to be there, to help the team, to show my qualities.”
