All eyes were on Fabio Vieira during Arsenal's clash against Southampton on Friday night.
It's been a mixed debut campaign for last summer's £34m signing from Porto as injury denied him a full pre-season and the form of Granit Xhaka and Gunners captain Martin Odegaard in the advanced midfield positions has meant the Portugal U21 start has seen opportunities in the Premier League few and far between.
But with the Arsenal vice-captain ruled out against the Saints through illness, Vieira was drafted in for only his third Premier League start of the season and manager Mikel Arteta was certainly looking forward to seeing what the 22-year-old could offer from the beginning.
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"Very different qualities, this morning unfortunately Granit [Xhaka] wasn’t feeling well so we had to get him out of the squad," the Spaniard said ahead of kick-off. "That’s why we signed a player like Fabio [Vieira] - very different qualities, much more attacking player, much more of a pocket player, excited to see him in the starting line-up."
Interestingly, a rare start for Vieira occurred on the same day as the Mason Mount to Arsenal links emerged ahead of the summer window. So with the idea that the Gunners are looking to bolster their options in central midfield football.london kept close tabs on the playmaker against the Saints.
0-15
With Arsenal falling behind after 25 seconds the onus was immediately thrust on Fabio Vieira and the attacking players in the side as the hosts searched for an immediate response. It's clear that the Portugal u21 international was operating in the 'Xhaka' role, drifting out to the left-hand side and looking to combine with Gabriel Martinelli.
It was down that flank where the 22-year-old forced the Gunners' first corner of the game in the fifth minute but aside from a clipped pass into the area after being picked out by Gabriel Jesus, overall it was a very quiet opening quarter of an hour from the playmaker and the task was made even harder when Theo Walcott doubled Southampton's lead.
16-30
A sloppy pass into Jesus was intercepted and forced Thomas Partey into committing a foul and whilst Vieira did seem to be gradually growing into the game especially after Gabriel Martinelli had pulled one back, most of Arsenal's attacks were coming down the right.
31-45
Minute 32 brings about a big moment for Vieira as the ball falls kindly for him on the edge of the area but he can't adjust his feet and ultimately digs out an effort that doesn't test Gavin Bazunu. Three minutes later and the midfielder is on the receiving end of a strong, but fair, challenge from Kyle Walker-Peters.
He did have a couple of good moments towards the end of the first half as he set Martinelli free down the left-hand side before picking out the combination of Gabriel Magalhaes and Rob Holding with a fine cross and perhaps should have had an assist to his name.
46-60
Despite Arsenal dominating possession at the start of the second half, Fabio Vieira was largely on the periphery of things. Although he was perhaps inches away from getting on the end of Bukayo Saka's cross only for Lyanco to produce a brilliant-headed clearance at the back post.
Replays showed the anguish on the playmaker's face and he immediately asked for more noise from the Arsenal fans but somewhat regretted that plan of action as seconds later he fluffed his lines when in a great crossing position, putting the ball straight into the hands of Bazunu.
That moment turned out to be Vieira's last contribution on the night as he was replaced by Leandro Trossard in the 55th minute.
Verdict: It's safe to say it wasn't Fabio Vieira's best performance in an Arsenal shirt by any stretch of the imagination and the concern is he was rather anonymous in the absence of Granit Xhaka. Furthermore, the fact he was substituted Ten minutes into the second half with the Gunners chasing a goal spoke volumes.
Additionally, with his replacement in Leandro Trossard impressing in that advanced midfield role may give Mikel Arteta some food for thought heading into the Manchester City game on Wednesday night but the Spaniard, as expected, stop short of criticising his £34m signing.
"It was a difficult match for a lot of players I think," Arteta said in the post-match press conference. "For Fabio he hasn’t had enough minutes. He had good periods but as well when the game starts at 1 or 2-0 and things don’t go your way it becomes more difficult. That doesn’t help."
What Vieira's performance against Southampton means for his future amid talk of Arsenal moving for Mason Mount this summer remains to be seen. If the Chelsea star does make the switch, one would imagine the Portuguese playmaker's chances will be limited even further next season.
But as for right now, it's becoming increasingly clear that Vieira isn't quite ready to play such an important role in the race for the Premier League title and he needs to show some improvement fairly soon.
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