When Arsenal paid £34m for Fabio Vieira final summer season, it was, by trendy requirements, a shock signing (in that, we solely knew it was taking place three days earlier than it was introduced). It wasn’t simply the lack of expertise or build-up to the signing being accomplished that made it a shock however few would have thought-about a inventive, attacking midfielder to be a precedence for Arsenal’s switch kitty.
Vieira seemed each inch a ‘mission signing’, a participant Arteta and the membership preferred and wished to bag earlier than he produced one other large season for Porto and his price ticket doubled or trebled. In a world the place half a superb season within the Ukrainian high flight could make you a £90m participant we are going to see extra of this sort of signing. But, in a way, it felt like a throwback too, there was one thing very Wenger-esque about it, signing a waifish younger playmaker when few thought-about it a precedence.
Upon signing, Arteta pointed to the participant’s versatility. “Fabio is a really inventive participant that can deliver top quality and flexibility to our attacking play.” Versatility is a key element of an ‘Arteta participant.’ One of many issues that made Vieira’s position at Porto exceptional was that his versatility was usually expressed throughout particular person video games, with the participant adopting base camps in utterly totally different areas of the sphere relying on recreation state.
Spent ages watching Fabio Vieira to work out if he’s good and what kind of participant he’s. He’s very enjoyable to observe pic.twitter.com/C5pVfORNxf
— JJ Bull (@jj_bull) August 12, 2022
On paper, I felt this could show to be a wise signing as a result of Vieira was capable of concurrently present cowl for Granit Xhaka, Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard. These are three gamers who’re nearly by no means rotated, so being a again as much as any one in every of them drastically restricts your minutes until the participant you might be understudying will get an damage.
Overlaying for 3 totem pole gamers appeared to make sense, you wish to strike a steadiness whereby your squad gamers are fairly concerned to allow them to stay sharp and in tune. The possibilities of that occuring to your squad gamers are enhanced when you’ll be able to play a variety of roles. This season, Arsenal are simply starting to construct that base layer- Tomiyasu, as an example, is not strictly a beginning eleven participant however he’s the primary reserve in each full-back positions and might play centre-half.
I view Leandro Trossard as a form of Tomiyasu for the assault, he in all probability isn’t forward of Martinelli, Saka or Jesus in a do or die recreation however he might, and has, performed in all of their positions and to a superb degree. He’s one other who’s within the ‘trusted to rotate into the crew and first off the bench’ territory. Emile Smith Rowe will, I feel, bid for the same position subsequent season.
That’s one more reason why the signing of Vieira precipitated me to cock an eyebrow, on the face of it, he appears to be a menace to the perform Smith Rowe might function in. Perhaps aside from the left-wing berth however with Trossard on board, I feel ESR might need fallen additional down the queue for that individual position. In the end, I don’t see a scenario the place each Vieira and Smith Rowe thrive at Arsenal.
Vieira was clearly any individual that Arsenal had earmarked to develop within the second layer of the crew, with Europa League appearances, league cameos and cup video games. The issue with the Europa League group video games as a improvement software for the squad gamers, is that you’re enjoying together with your friends and never your seniors by way of hierarchy and it isn’t all the time straightforward to indicate your finest kind in these low key, combine and match events. (Vieira averages 49 touches per 90 within the Europa League in comparison with 63 per 90 within the Premier League).
Vieira began a league recreation away at Brentford when Odegaard was injured again in September and he seemed much better in that recreation than he did in many of the Europa League group stage. This can be a level Arteta acknowledged earlier than Arsenal performed away at Wolves in November- a recreation by which Vieira got here on for Xhaka within the first half and had a tangible affect from the bench.
“Each participant wants time to adapt and to play towards Brentford away from residence, he was surrounded by gamers he’s extra conversant in, and it was a bit bit simpler. We’ve requested him to play in numerous positions as nicely due to the wants that now we have within the squad. I’m not frightened in any respect.” Therein was a tacit admission from Arteta that his versatility could have counted towards him by way of settling into the crew.
Trossard’s versatility has been an enormous asset and he has settled into the crew in a short time however he’s 28-years-old with 4 years of Premier League expertise with Brighton behind him and Arsenal have been carrying an damage of their ahead line when he arrived. Versatility could make a participant and typically it could break a participant. Arteta hinted at discovering Vieira a extra settled position previous to the Oxford United FA Cup recreation in January.
“Now it’s my position to present him the best minutes in the best place, in the best setting, to fulfil his potential. However I’m actually proud of him.” He performed in Odegaard’s proper eight position that night and in his second Premier League begin of the season at residence to Bournemouth, he performed Xhaka’s left eight position. Arteta was effusive concerning the participant’s efficiency in Lisbon final month, a recreation by which he performed without any consideration eight after which as a false 9.
“You noticed tonight he was one in every of our harmful gamers, making issues occur and he’s a participant that I completely love.” I feel there’s a very robust argument that his versatility and publicity to totally different positions will present him with a superb crash course of the Arteta system, giving him the chance to expertise the crew from totally different angles and views, which is particularly vital for a inventive participant.
I feel he has improved bodily from, it should be stated, a low bar. He nonetheless tends to be absent throughout video games at instances. Like a whole lot of younger inventive gamers, he’s nonetheless creating his sense of ‘pausa’, of when to hurry the sport up and when to sluggish it down, when to search for the killer cross and when to maintain the ball transferring with a easy wall cross.
That is the place elite playmakers like Odegaard and a first-rate Mesut Ozil actually got here into their very own. The assists are essentially the most tangible a part of their job, clearly. Nevertheless, each have / had an innate understanding of when to bump a easy cross to a teammate, transfer, make an angle to get it again, obtain it and keep it up. That intangible meter takes time to develop.
This was all the time more likely to be a developmental season for Vieira and Arsenal’s squad is such that they may afford to blood him slowly and quietly. The coach has talked him up constantly throughout the season, simply earlier than the victory at Leicester in February, he gushed, “He’s beginning to give me large complications as a result of I see each single day what he’s able to doing. An incredible participant.
“He now understands precisely what we would like and bodily he’s a situation to compete on the proper degree on this league. He brings qualities that we don’t have within the squad. I’m very keen to present him extra (minutes).” I’m certain there was a component of ‘gassing him up’ as somebody youthful than me may say however Arteta is a tough taskmaster and never within the enterprise of doling out flowers to his youthful gamers willy nilly.
If Vieira desires to develop from being a flexible squad choice to being a bona fide member of the crew subsequent season, Granit Xhaka’s position appears to be the place probably up for grabs. You’ll think about Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard’s shirts are solid in stone. The query then turns into whether or not Vieira can develop the penalty field aspects of the sport to play that position, to reach late off the ball into the realm.
I don’t know but what Fabio Vieira is however that’s okay. I didn’t suppose Ben White was an elite right-back. I didn’t suppose Zinchenko would rework Arsenal’s midfield. I didn’t suppose Trossard would repair Arsenal’s sans Jesus attacking issues as a false 9. I wasn’t solely certain Bukayo Saka could be a proper winger.
If Vieira might be one other Trossard / Tomiyasu versatility choice and function at that degree, he may have been definitely worth the cash. If the participant desires greater than that, he’s in all probability going to must settle right into a place and make it his personal. It is rather unlikely that he’ll be capable of try this in Odegaard or Saka’s positions.
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