Arsenal secured an important win against Wolves at the Molineux Stadium on Saturday night. This win sends them five points clear of defending champions Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table.
The north Londoners didn’t make any changes from their 1-0 victory over Chelsea last weekend. However, Granit Xhaka went to ground after just a minute. He looked ill and was replaced by Fabio Vieira, who had an impressive outing.
Wolves put up a resilient fight in the first half but the away team completely outplayed them in the second half. Two goals from captain Martin Odegaard sealed the victory for the Gunners.
Fabio Vieira was at the heart of Arsenal’s opening goal. He showed great composure with the ball in the Wolves penalty area before eventually playing a clever lifted ball towards Odegaard, who made no mistake in tapping it into an empty net.
The Portuguese midfielder was also heavily involved in most of the attacks. Ian Wright was clearly impressed with the youngster’s performance. While speaking on BBC One, the Highbury icon said:
“Fabio Vieira came on and did fantastically well, came on for Xhaka, who unfortunately had to go off.”
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Since arriving at the English capital in the summer, Vieira has struggled to cope with the Premier League’s pace and physicality. He has shown glimpses of brilliance but has been unable to deliver consistently.
The 22-year-old provided a glimpse of what he can offer on Saturday. Although he is not guaranteed a place in the starting line-up for League games, the midfielder can pull the strings for Cup and Europa League fixtures.
Vieira missed the Gunners’ pre-season due to an injury. The World Cup break could help him adapt to new surroundings and provide the youngster an opportunity to hone his skills.
Meanwhile, Christmas has come early for Arsenal fans. The five-point lead ensures that the Gunners will remain League leaders going into Christmas. They also finished top of their Europa League group, meaning they have qualified directly to the Round of 16. The season is far from over, but if they can continue with the same intensity after the break, a double is certainly on the cards.
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