£34m Arsenal player is not injured as Arteta axe becomes clear

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Arsenal playmaker Fabio Vieira was not injured and was simply left out of the squad to face Chelsea on Saturday evening.

Mikel Arteta seemingly decided that playmaker Fabio Vieira just wasn’t needed in Arsenal’s 2-2 draw at Chelsea.

The Gunners made a short trip to West London on Saturday evening and looked to be heading for a pretty dismal defeat.

Cole Palmer and Mykhailo Mudryk had put Chelsea 2-0 up before a Declan Rice goal sparked Arsenal’s fightback.

Leandro Trossard levelled it up late on, giving Arsenal a 2-2 draw and a share of the spoils at Stamford Bridge.

Fabio VIeira absence explained amid Arsenal draw

This was far from a vintage Arsenal display and Arteta will certainly want much better from his players moving forward.

Some fans were a little confused before the game even kicked off as Fabio Vieira wasn’t even named on the bench.

The likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Kai Havertz, Reiss Nelson and Trossard were all on the bench but there was no spot for Vieira.

Football London reporter Kaya Kaynak now reports that there was no injury for Vieira and he simply wasn’t selected.

Arteta simply felt that the £34million playmaker, who joined from Porto last year, wasn’t right for this game and decided to leave him out.

That axe is a blow for Vieira, who is in a crucial period of his Arsenal career…

Vieira needs to be pushing Odegaard

Vieira seemed to have started the new season in strong form, picking up assists against Fulham and Manchester United.

The 23-year-old wasn’t a regular starter last season but seemed to be knocking on the door amid early struggles for Havertz.

Vieira got his big chance to start against Tottenham Hotspur but was virtually anonymous and was substituted at half time.

Arteta then gave Vieira just 14 minutes against Bournemouth and another disappointing display against Lens – after coming on for Bukayo Saka – was the last we saw of him.

Vieira was an unused substitute against Manchester City and wasn’t even involved against Chelsea, so his momentum has certainly been curtailed.

Martin Odegaard hasn’t been at his brilliant best of late, so Arsenal really need Vieira to be pushing him as a creative force in midfield.

If Vieira can’t make that leap, Arsenal may well be ruthless and go in a different direction in 2024, such is Arteta’s push for excellence.