2 years ago
How Arsenal might line up with Fabio Vieira, Gabriel Jesus, and others in the upcoming campaign
Two big summer signings for Arsenal appear to be on the verge of happening, and on Thursday afternoon, a bolt from the Portuguese blue appeared.
Fabio Vieira, a 22-year-old midfielder from Porto, is expected to sign a five-year contract with the Gunners after the two parties have reached an agreement.
As Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette left the club, it is said that Arsenal is making significant progress in their pursuit of Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus. The Brazilian is expected to lead the attack in their absence.
Here, Sports Mole examines how Arsenal might line up in the upcoming campaign with Vieira and Jesus in the starting XI.
After Vieira moves to North London, Mikel Arteta will have the best kind of creative conundrum, and the Portugal Under-21 international has excelled in a variety of positions throughout his tenure in his native country.
If Vieira were to make the starting lineup, Arteta might switch to the 4-3-3 formation that he is rumored to be yearning for in North London. In that case, the left-footed youngster would probably be paired with Martin Odegaard.
Although it is unclear whether Vieira's acquisition will affect Arsenal's pursuit of Youri Tielemans, who would just increase the competition in the midfield, Vieira and Odegaard should both start the game ahead of the lone Thomas Partey.
As a result, Granit Xhaka, Albert Sambi Lokonga, and Emile Smith Rowe may have to settle for bench duties, especially after the former lost his left wing position to Gabriel Martinelli during a challenging second half of the season.
Bukayo Saka is the right winger for the Selecao, thus Martinelli will back his fellow countryman Gabriel Jesus, however fellow Selecao sensation Marquinhos will look for opportunities to shine in preseason.
For Arteta, having Kieran Tierney and Takehiro Tomiyasu fully fit again would be a huge early-season boost. William Saliba is also ready to prove himself over the summer.
While Gabriel Magalhaes and Ben White will work to keep Saliba off the team for the time being, some healthy competition and extra depth for the European team could be beneficial for European competitions can only be a good thing.
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