Mikel Arteta has insisted that Arsenal must remain patient with Fabio Vieira amid the midfielder's turbulent start to life at the Emirates Stadium. The 22-year-old, who joined the Gunners from Porto in the summer for a fee in the region of £34million, initially impressed upon his arrival but he's since struggled to recapture such form.
Vieira featured as the north Londoners suffered an early exit from the Carabao Cup. He was eventually replaced by Gabriel Jesus with little under 20 minutes to spare after Arsenal had just conceded their third goal of the tie.
The Portugal international has failed to earn himself a frequent role in Arteta's side, with Martin Odegaard, Granit Xhaka and Thomas Partey establishing a strong bond in midfield. So, Vieira was handed a chance to impress against the Seagulls but unfortunately he didn't quite have the desired impact.
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Following the clash, the Arsenal boss was quizzed on the Portuguese star's development and whether supporters should begin to be worry about the new signing's form. Arteta said: "I think in front of goal he’s been unlucky because in the past two games he could have scored a few goals.
"But every player needs time to adapt obviously. When he played against Brentford away from home and he’s surrounded with players he’s more familiar with it’s a bit easier.
"We’ve asked him to play lots of different positions as well because of the needs that we have in the squad," the Spaniard added. "But, I’m not worried at all."
Arteta was then asked whether he thinks Vieira has settled in at London Colney. He replied: "Well he missed a big part because he was injured for two and a half months and he missed the whole preseason and didn’t have any preseason. I think that period in the World Cup is going to make him very good."
Vieira has featured seven times for Arsenal in the Premier League this season, directly contributing towards one goal. With the Gunners sitting at the top of the table, the maestro faces an up-hill battle to force Odegaard or Xhaka out of the side.
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