After years of mediocrity, Arsenal are once again one of the best teams in the world. They may not win the Premier League title this year as well, but we can certainly see the improvement from last season.
Mikel Arteta took over a team that looked hopeless and lost in December 2019 and 4.5 years since, he has transformed them into one of the best teams in Europe. They haven’t won the league title yet, but they’ve given treble-winners Manchester City a run for their money. That’s a big feat!
While Arteta’s tactics may be the main reason for the change of fortunes, his talent identification signings have been as important.
Vieira has been one of the few bad signings Arteta has made at Arsenal
Arteta has headed the signing of players like Odegaard, Gabriel and Declan Rice. However, he has also made a few bad signings and Fabio Vieira is one of them. Arsenal signed Vieira back in the summer of 2022 for £34 million. He had an impressive previous year with Porto that caught the Gunners’ eyes.
That year, the midfielder scored 7 goals and provided 16 assists in 39 appearances for the Portuguese club. Only 21 of these were starts, and hence he averaged a goal involvement every 86 minutes.
However, in his first season for the Gunners, the Portuguese managed just 2 goals and six assists in 33 appearances. The first season in England top-flight can be written off to give the player a benefit of doubt, but Vieira’s second season has been equally bad.
Injuries played a major part in Vieira’s disappointing second season
This season, Vieira has made just 16 appearances for Arsenal, and only 3 of them have been starts – contributing just 1 goal and 3 assists. He missed a staggering 20 games to injuries. This has seen his valuation plunge down to £9 million.
Its a possibility that he could come good in his third season, but the probability is less. Odegaard and Rice have nailed down their places in Arteta’s preferred three-man midfield. With a new midfielder possibly being bought to complete the trio, gametime for Vieira could be scarce. Given that, and his plunging valuation, the best option for Arsenal would be to sell the 23-year-old.
As featured on GoonerNews.com
A trusted source on GoonerNews.comFor more football updates, make sure to follow us on:
