Mikel Arteta is well aware of what Arsenal need. And he might have just found it with Fabio Vieira.
A former Gunners captain that made 150 appearances for the club, Arteta shared a dressing room with some wonderfully talented creators.
The 40-year-old manager does not need to be schooled in their importance, particularly in the great Arsenal sides of years gone by.
“Look at the players that we had in the past at this club in those positions,” Arteta told Sky Sports back in 2020. “You go back to [Santi] Cazorla, to [Tomas] Rosicky, to [Andrey] Arshavin when he played there, to [Aaron] Ramsey when he played there, to [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan when he came in. Even Jack Wilshere used to play in those pockets all the time.
“That is a lot of players who are now not here. We have to renew that cycle, because if not, those kind of players won’t be there for us anymore.
“They are a big part of what any squad needs.”
Arteta was Pep Guardiola’s right-hand man during Manchester City’s 2017-18 campaign, one in which they hit a record-breaking 106 goals and 100 points.
Their midfield that season boasted Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva, David Silva and Ilkay Gundogan. Evidently, there’s no such thing as too many defence-splitting passes.
Since making those comments, Mesut Ozil was ostracised from the squad and shipped out, while Dani Ceballos – nominally that kind of player – returned to parent club Real Madrid, having never quite convinced at the Emirates.
Two years on and we’re witnessing the renewing of the cycle, as promised by the fledgeling coach. Martin Odegaard’s first full season in the Premier League was full of promise, while Hale End’s very own Emile Smith Rowe is emerging as a special talent.
But Arsenal could still do with more of those Cazorla-esque magicians that are so intelligent and effortless at finding space in “those pockets” between the lines. Take just a cursory glance at new £34million signing Vieira and you’ll see a player that looks to fit the billing.
The 22-year-old playmaker thrives in what tactics nerds call the ‘halfspace’ – namely infield, where more passing options open up – but he’s also played some killer crosses from out on the wing.
There’s no better example of that than his perfectly-struck cross for Mehdi Taremi to equalise late on for Porto against reigning champions Sporting back in February.
Porto get their equaliser! 🐲
Mehdi Taremi with a superb header from an outstanding…
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