Mikel Arteta was very happy with Fabio Vieira’s performance in the second half against Fulham. He acknowledged that not granting the Portuguese player more opportunities to play this season was indeed his own error.
After a disappointing first year at Arsenal since his £35million transfer from Porto, Vieira might have thought that his opportunities to play in the first team would decrease even more with the arrival of Kai Havertz and the return of Emile Smith Rowe, who had recovered from his injury.
The 23-year-old player was absent in both of Arsenal’s opening matches against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace. He also began the game on the bench against the Cottagers.
Vieira came onto the field instead of Kai Havertz, 10 minutes into the second half. Arsenal was still losing the match, as Andreas Pereira scored in the first minute. The home crowd was surprised, but Vieira played really well for Arsenal.
The Portuguese player, who represents the Under-21 national team, earned a penalty for Arsenal. This allowed Bukayo Saka to score and bring the score level. The same player then set up Eddie Nketiah for what seemed like the winning goal, but Joao Paulinha scored a late goal to change the outcome.
Arteta said he should have done more after Arsenal didn’t win against Fulham.