The only thing longer than waiting for Youri Tielemans to potentially travel to Arsenal this summer has been the highly anticipated debut of Fabio Vieira. Yet both could occur this weekend as Leicester City make their way to the Emirates Stadium to take on the Gunners.
football.london understands that Arsenal’s interest in Youri Tielemans remains, but whatever happens, he will be in North London this weekend. Despite this, all eyes will be on the debut of Fabio Vieira.
The summer signing from Porto was signed despite suffering from a foot injury that ruined his pre-season preparations and caused him to miss the first game of the season at Crystal Palace. However, he has been back in full training and there is an expectation that he could be on the bench this weekend.
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Kaya Kaynak said on The Arsenal Way that he expects no changes despite the return of Vieira and a few others. Takehiro Tomiyasu and Emile Smith-Rowe are also both in contention.
"Yeah, I don't think I'd expect him to start because I think the team is pretty settled right now which is unusual for the first games of the season," Kaya said. "But obviously Arsenal played the same starting XI in their last two preseason friendlies against Chelsea and Sevilla so this team has started three games in a row. I’d expect them to make that four assuming there’s no fresh injury concerns.
"Vieira could be available for the bench and I think he would be a welcome addition to the squad. I’m really fascinated to see what Arteta views him as because none of us know."
He adds that Vieira’s positioning could give a hint toward what the transfer priority for the window might be. Depending on where the 22-year-old players will tell us where the need for strengthening still lies.
He added: "We're deciding is he a left winger? Is he a right-winger? Is he a potential false nine? Will he be one of the eights? Will he be a six, I’ve heard some people say?
"When we sort of see what Fabio Vieira is then I think we can start to reassess a little bit about Arsenal’s transfer policies and priorities because they have been very tight-lipped when it comes to trying to get information out of them this summer. If Fabio Vieira is that midfield eight, if that’s how they view him, then you can start putting more emphasis on players being linked in the wing positions and vice versa.
"He’s an interesting one to keep an eye out on, I think he will have an impact on the Arsenal transfer strategy. Not him specifically but just where he plays will have an impact on what we can expect Arsenal to do in the final weeks of the window."
Should Vieira play in a wider role, it would open up the possibility that a player such as Tielemans remains a need with the central midfield needing greater quality. Whereas Vieira featuring in the middle could suggest a more pressing requirement to add to the wing and the likes of Yeremy Pino therefore would potentially appear to be the priority ahead of the window’s closure.
To hear more from Kaya Kaynak on the state of Arsenal’s incomings, outgoings and the upcoming clash against Leicester City click here. Daily shows available keeping you up to date with all the latest Arsenal news and views.
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