Darren Bent says 23-year-old Arsenal man made a huge difference vs Fulham yesterday

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Sky Sports pundit Darren Bent has praised the impact Fabio Vieira made for Arsenal against Fulham yesterday.

Bent was covering the 2-2 draw on Sky Sports Soccer Saturday (26/8 4:31pm) and was quick to point out how well the 23-year-old did.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta won’t be pleased to have dropped points so early in the season.

His side had the majority of the ball and 19 shots, but Bernd Leno didn’t face anything too troubling.

The first half was particularly frustrating for the home fans.

The Gunners were behind within a minute thanks to a Bukayo Saka misplaced pass playing in Andreas Pereira.

However, time and again they got into dangerous positions but couldn’t create a clear-cut chance.

That changed when Fabio Vieira came on for Kai Havertz and Bent was impressed with the Portuguese against Fulham.

He won the penalty that Bukayo Saka converted before playing the cross to Eddie Nketiah that gave Arsenal the lead.

Joao Palhinha’s late goal meant the spoils were shared but the 23-year-old’s cameo was arguably the biggest positive from the day.

Bent praises Vieira’s performance vs Fulham

Covering Arsenal’s match on Soccer Saturday, Bent said after the Gunners took the lead: “Eddie Nketiah’s got the goal. I mean, it’s a bit unfortunate for Fulham because Calvin Bassey goes down in the box after a collision with Bukayo Saka.

“He stays down but Arsenal just play on, they forget that he’s there.

“The ball goes wide to Fabio Vieira, he’s had a real impact on this game. He whips it across and Eddie Nketiah does what he does best.

“He’s in the six-yard box, tap in, 2-1 Arsenal.

He added later in his coverage: “Fabio Vieira’s made a real difference since he’s come on. He’s hit the bicycle kick and it’s a really good save from [Bernd] Leno, but the linesman’s flag was up anyway.”

Mikel Arteta joined Bent in singling out Vieira for praise against Fulham.

The 23-year-old needs regular minutes to reach his best level and he proved yesterday that he could be a really useful option for Arsenal this season.

It’s bad news for Reiss Nelson and Emile Smith Rowe that neither player was called upon when the Gunners were chasing a goal.

It will be interesting to see if either player attracts any last-minute interest in the final days of the transfer window having played a combined three minutes this season so far.