No Fabio Vieira recall – more is required

Good morning, it’s Sunday for those of you who have lost track of what day it is.

There are Premier League games today and Monday, but for some reason our game against Brentford is scheduled for Wednesday evening. It’s a bit weird, I don’t really understand why there’s such a gap, but it means we have two tricky away games in close proximity as we then go to Brighton on Saturday evening.

There’s not a lot going on in terms of Arsenal news, other than rumours of Fabio Vieira being recalled from his loan at Porto, even involving a private jet (a classic but one which I’ve never seen applied to a player returning to his own club having had a season long loan cut short). Anyway, this has since been shot down by their head coach Vitor Bruno. He left the 24 year old out of the squad for their game against Boavista yesterday, citing something vague about his ‘day to day activities’, but insisted he would stay with them for the rest of the season:

Fabio knows me well and we are counting on him. He will be available to play again next week.

While it would make sense on some level, I don’t think Vieira would be anything other than a warm body. Which perhaps is not to be sniffed at at this moment in time, but I’ve never been convinced by him in Bukayo Saka’s position, and just a couple of press conferences ago Mikel Arteta made it clear that loaning him out was deliberate in order to make the pathway for Ethan Nwaneri. It’s not as if he’s been tearing it up at Porto either. Two goals and two assists in 17 appearances in what is an easier league to produce in doesn’t scream ‘RECALL!’ to me.

As we discussed in yesterday’s Arsecast Extra, an attacking signing in this window is a necessity, but quite what we do is the question. Do we look below us in the Premier League, and pay the higher price for someone who is ready to go in this league, or seek something more cost effective elsewhere? We can’t loan a player from another Premier League club but we can bring someone in temporarily from abroad.

A loan might be smart, giving you the chance to go after a more attainable permanent target in the summer, but then you run the risk of it being a bit more Denis Suarez than Martin Odegaard. Arsenal’s have done decent business in January in the past. Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor, Abou Diaby, Andrei Arshavin and Nacho Monreal were all signed in the mid-season window – and they all worked out well to varying degrees.

More recently Leandro Trossard, Jorginho and Jakub Kiwior have arrived in January, and while perhaps only the Belgian has been a ‘hit’ (even if his current form is a bit patchy), the other two have augmented the squad pretty well. The thing about this window though is that we need someone who can really make an impact. We’re without a player who has contributed to over 30% of our goals since the start of the 2022-23 season (James’ stat on the podcast yesterday!), and those are some big footsteps to try and follow.

Right now, we’re involved in four competitions. That could change this month as cup ties take place, but on top of that we’re second in the Premier League and still in the Champions League. Despite the low-level feel-bad factor that is an undercurrent of our season because of how certain games have gone, this remains a competitive team with a genuine chance of silverware across multiple competitions. I’m sure Arsenal recognise that, I’m certain they can sense the opportunity, but can also see the challenge of trying to do it without our most productive attacking player.

I understand Mikel Arteta saying he has to get as much as possible out of the players he has, but over the course of his tenure the outlay on attacking talent has been well below that of other areas – particularly defensive. We are so strong there, but fundamentally weakened further forward now. I’m not saying we should or even could go and spend what Newcastle want for Alexander Isak, for example, but a statement of intent and a signing who won’t just be a replacement for Saka in the short-term would be a huge boost as we go into the second half of the season.

Stan. Josh. Get yer chequebook out, buddies.

Have a great Sunday folks.

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