Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Fabio Vieira is fit and available to make his Arsenal debut in this weekend’s clash against Bournemouth.
Since moving to the Emirates Stadium from Primeira Liga champions Porto for a reported £34million earlier this summer, Vieira is yet to feature for his new employers and missed all of their pre-season games due to a minor foot injury that he picked up while on international duty.
However, Arteta has now revealed that the midfielder, who was given a run-out with the Arsenal Under-21 side in a game against Swansea this week, is ready to make his official debut on Saturday, while also confirming the availability of the previously-injured duo of Cedric Soares and Emile Smith Rowe.
“Everybody is okay; Cedric, Fabio and Emile played for the Under- 21s,” Arteta said in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s trip to the South Coast tomorrow.
“They are okay, they have trained all week so they are available.
The Arsenal head coach went on to praise Vieira for his versatility although he did hint that he is still looking for the best way to integrate the 22-year-old with his new teammates going forward.
“With Fabio, his versatility is something that caught our eye and we believe he will give us a lot of options,” Arteta added.
“Fabio has been training with us just for a week…We need to see where he clicks and where he can make a big impact for the team, we are looking at that.”
While it is highly unlikely that Vieira gets the nod to feature right from the off, he would be expected to come on at some point at the Vitality Stadium where Arsenal go in search of a third straight victory to maintain their 100% start to the 2022/23 Premier League season.
