Fabio Vieira dealt brilliantly with the pressure put on him by his first Premier League start to star in Arsenal ’s comfortable 3-0 win over Brentford and impress Jamie Redknapp on Sunday.
Vieira joined Arsenal in a £34million transfer from Porto in the summer to become the Gunners’ second arrival of the window. The subsequent arrivals of Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko took the spotlight off Vieira, who touched down in north London with an injury which meant he was unavailable throughout August.
But with Martin Odegaard missing with a calf injury for Sunday’s trip to Brentford, Vieira took centre-stage as the creative presence in Arsenal’s midfield. He took that responsibility on his shoulders and ended the match with a brilliant first goal for the club on what was just his third appearance.
After William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus’ headers put Arsenal in control, Vieira stepped up to the plate with a circling effort which went in off the inside of the post from distance. The 22-year-old celebrated with clear delight and settled any doubts about his suitability for the Premier League.
“This is a big game for Vieira, they’ve paid big money for him, big chance,” Redknapp said on Sky Sports before kick-off. “But not an easy game, they smother you in midfield, they press you, he's not going to have a minute on the ball, they’ll move the ball quickly. We’ve seen it so often – Man United had problems there – but he’s a talented player, it’s a tough one to go there, he’s got to adjust very quickly.”
His performance backed up Mikel Arteta’s assessment of his potential after he joined the club back in June. "I am very excited that we have identified and signed such a special talent," the Arsenal manager told the club website. "Fabio is a very creative player that will bring high quality and versatility to our attacking play.”
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Arteta was understandably delighted with what he saw from the Portuguese youngster against Brentford. Vieira completed 35 of his 43 attempted passes and was a key presence in linking defence to attack.
“I think he is having a good progression,” Arteta said. “He has missed the whole pre-season due to an injury and that was very unlucky but we know his talent.
“We know the reason why we signed him and what he can bring to the team but to do it against Brentford in this ground on his Premier League debut is a different story and he shows again his character and his quality.”
Arsenal’s win ensured they moved back to the top of the Premier League following Manchester City ’s 3-0 win over Wolves on Saturday. Arteta’s side have won six of their seven matches and now have two weeks off for the international break before hosting Tottenham in the north London derby on October 1.
