Arsenal’s Manager Mikel Arteta has explained why Fabio Vieira failed to live up to challenge against Southampton after being named in the starting lineup.
Arsenal manager, Mikel Arteta, has attributed Fabio Vieira’s lacklustre performance during Arsenal’s game against Southampton on Friday night to a dearth of playing opportunities.
Vieira, who was signed in the summer from Porto, was handed a rare starting position in the Premier League after Granit Xhaka had to pull out of the game due to illness.
Despite this golden opportunity, the Portugal Under-21 international was unable to exert the same level of influence that Xhaka has for most of the season, and he remained largely anonymous for the opening 45 minutes.
Arteta replaced Vieira with Leandro Trossard just before the hour mark, as he sought to find a way back into the game. Speaking about Vieira’s subpar performance, Arteta stated, “It was a difficult match for a lot of players, but for Fabio, he hasn’t played enough minutes. He had good periods, but the way the game started, instead of going one or two-nil up and everything going in your favour, it starts to go in a much more difficult way. That doesn’t help.”
Despite a spirited late comeback that saw goals from Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka, Arsenal ultimately drew 3-3 with Southampton, further dampening their chances in the title race.