Mikel Arteta singles out £34m Arsenal man for praise after Fulham draw

Add as preferred source on Google

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted he really enjoyed midfielder Fabio Vieira’s performance against Fulham yesterday.

Arteta was speaking to the press, which was relayed by the club’s official website, after a 2-2 draw with their London rivals.

The match couldn’t have got off to the worst possible start.

A misplaced Bukayo Saka pass allowed Andreas Pereira to catch Aaron Ramsdale out of position and score within 60 seconds.

The relentless pressure from Arsenal failed to pay off in the first half as Fulham went into the break ahead.

However, Arteta called on Eddie Nketiah and Fabio Vieira to try and unlock Fulham’s defence and both made the desired impact.

The £34m Portuguese won a penalty after a poor challenge from Kenny Tete that Bukayo Saka converted.

Nketiah then took advantage of Calvin Bassey being injured in the box to stay onside and put Arsenal ahead.

Although the final result wasn’t ideal for the home side, Arteta still saw some positives.

He will know that Arsenal dropped two important points yesterday with Manchester City unlikely to make the same mistakes against Marco Silva’s side next weekend.

Arteta impressed with Vieira against Fulham

Asked about the 23-year-old’s performance, Arteta said: “I’m really happy with the subs and the way they came in.

“With Fabio [Vieira] I’m delighted for him as well because he hasn’t played any minutes so far this season and to see a player that comes with that determination and that positiveness to this team and has the impact that he had, it’s difficult to see and really pleasing.

“I’m really happy for him as well.”

Vieira came on to replace Kai Havertz who didn’t have a good game for Arsenal yesterday.

The German international is still adapting to his new surroundings but looks on a very different wavelength to his teammates.

Vieira, on the other hand, was causing Fulham problems immediately which would have really impressed Arteta.

He thought he might have won the match in the final moments, but forced another brilliant save from Bernd Leno.

Whether he’s done enough to potentially earn a start next weekend is yet to be seen.

Vieira has needed 12 months to settle in at the Emirates, but his cameo yesterday was a very encouraging sign.