Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told Football.London that attacking midfielder Fabio Vieira did not have the best of times in the first half against Oxford United on Monday evening.
Arteta believes that Arsenal youngster Vieira struggled in the first half of the FA Cup third-round tie against Oxford because he was man-marked.
The 22-year-old Portuguese player did not have enough space to weave his magic, according to Arteta.
The Arsenal boss was impressed by how well Vieira played in the second half.
The Gunners scored all three goals of their goals in the second half.
Arsenal won the FA Cup third-round tie against Oxford 3-0.
Vieira provided two assists.
Arteta had described the youngster has a “huge talent” before the match.
Mikel Arteta on Arsenal playmaker Fabio Vieira
Arteta said about Vieira on ITV (7:45pm, January 9, 2023) before the match: “Huge talent. It took him a while to get set. He came from Portugal with a big injury in his foot. He missed the whole pre-season, but he has already shown what he is able to do.”
The Arsenal boss told Football.London after the game: “Yeah as well because the way the game was in the first half.
“He was man-marked all the time, he didn’t have a lot of space, the game becomes really direct and unclear for him but the moment we started to do things better, he found more space and that’s his game.”
Encouraging
Fabio Vieira did well against Oxford United on Monday evening, and we think that the Arsenal fans should be pleased with him.
Yes, it was ‘only’ Oxford United, but it was a still a competitive match, an FA Cup tie no less.
The 22-year-old was very creative in the second half, and he did demonstrate that he can replace another attacking player in the regular starting team when he has to.
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