‘My fault’: Mikel Arteta admits he made mistake over ‘dangerous’ Arsenal star

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Arsenal star Fabio Vieira has impressed in the early stages of this season, and manager Mikel Arteta has admitted that he made a mistake over the midfielder.

The 23-year-old struggled at times last season following his arrival from Porto, but has delivered some strong performances in limited game time this season, earning himself a start at Goodison Park after some excellent cameos against Fulham and Manchester United off the bench.

Mikel Arteta has now claimed in his Champions League press conference that he blames himself for not playing Vieira more, and praised the midfielder following what has been his best run of performances in an Arsenal shirt.

“That was my fault, he stated of Vieira’s limited game time.

“I said many times that I hadn’t played Fabio enough and he hadn’t had enough room in the team with the competitions that we played to participate more.

“But every day, we see the talent that he’s got and what he can bring to the team. I was really happy with his performance at the weekend.”

Vieira’s increasing influence

Vieira started just three Premier League games last season, and whilst he did notch up six assists in all competitions, he did receive criticism for his sometimes limited impact on games.

However, during pre-season, he looked fitter and sharper than ever, and physically he appears to have adjusted to the demands of the Premier League. In his appearances against Fulham and Man United, his quality in the final third was on full display as he produced two perfectly weighted assists for Eddie Nketiah and Gabriel Jesus.

He could have notched up another assist away at Everton, with Gabriel Martinelli’s goal being ruled out for offside, but he surprised everyone with his newfound ability to win duels and compete physically.

Arteta described Vieira as “dangerous” last season, and it is clear that his ability to deliver a killer ball is up there with the best players in the squad.

He is now having more influence on matches, and he can become the difference maker in attack that Arsenal need to create goals, and if his form continues, he can force his way into the starting XI ahead of Kai Havertz, Emile Smith Rowe or Leandro Trossard.